The Way the Heart Beats
by NaLeYBaBiixo
Summary: Updated 1.7.10! Haley and Nathan broke up but secretly want each other back. Lucas and Brooke try to set them back up. They realize their feelings for each other. But trouble and drama is on the way, things you wouldnt expect..check it out!
1. Time for Change

**_Well guys here it is. I hope you like it. This is my first fanfic so I'm trying my best to please you. ) So please review so that I know if you like it or not. Also I don't own One Tree Hill or any characters. I wish I did. Oh well. So yeah and I like constructive criticism so that I can learn to make better stories. So go easy :) Enjoy_  
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** Nathan and Deb…**

The sun was shining through the window of the Scott residence. The clock read 8:00. Nathan rolled out of bed with a groan. Today was the day. Although he thought that when this day came he would be more excited. Today was his tryouts for High Flyers. After deciding not to go, his mother insisted it would be good for him to go. After all, Haley wanted him to go for his dream. Haley. God how he missed her. They had broken up just about three months ago. Nathan decided that their dreams were just too big for one another. Truth was, he still loved her. I mean you can't just stop loving someone once you have loved him for so long. He broke it off thinking it was best because she deserved better. But deep inside he knew she was the one for him.

"Nathan, let's go you're going to be late!" Deb yelled up the stairs.

"I'm coming!" Nathan yelled right back. Putting the finishing touches on his outfit he walked downstairs.

"How exciting this must be for you! Oh, you've wanted this for so long. This is your dream." Deb said.

"Yeah, pretty exciting." Nathan said sarcastically grabbing a quick breakfast.

"Come on Nathan, you've wanted this ever since you could hold a ball." Deb said trying to put some sense into her son.

"I know it is Mom, and I'm excited, really I am, I just..idk." Nathan said with a depressed tone.

"It's Haley isn't it?" Deb asked.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked trying not to be obvious.

"Oh Nathan, come on, you think I don't know these things?" Deb asked with a smirk.

"Mom, really Haley has nothing to do with this." Nathan said, again trying to hide his true feelings.

"Nathan look, I know this is tough for you, you just broke up with her and your still upset, but honey today is about you and your dreams, and what you want for a change." There was silence. "Then go after her." Deb said with a smirk.

Nathan laughed. "Thanks but no thanks Mom, she's better off without me anyway. She shouldn't mean this much to me, I mean we did break up." He said knowing it all was a lie.

"Sure, Whatever." Deb said catching on. "Go now or you'll be late!"

"Yeah, wouldn't want to miss that, I don't think I can afford losing another important thing in my life." Nathan said as he walked out the door.

Deb just stared with a worried expression. Her son was having a more difficult time letting go then she thought he would.

* * *

**Lucas and Brooke…**

Lucas ran through his house and up to Brooke's room. Burst through the door without knocking.

"Brooke!" Lucas said a little out of breath.

"Wow, ever heard of knocking?" Brooke asked.

"Sorry, But I have the best idea ever and you are going to love it." Lucas said hoping she would agree.

"Oh really? Well go ahead and tell me, I'll tell you if I love it or not." Brooke said as she put her laundry away.

"How about a road trip?" Lucas asked.

"I think you're crazy." Brooke replied walking out of her room.

"No, no, no I'm not. Would you like to know where I plan on going?" Lucas asked following her out.

"Sure why not." Brooke answered not really caring.

"New York City." Lucas said trying to read Brooke's face for any sign of emotion.

"Ahh! I love NYC! Oh my god Lucas you're the best!" Brooke said hugging him. "How did you know that was my favorite place to shop?" Brooke asked almost dying of excitement.

"Actually I wasn't talking about shopping." Lucas replied with hope that he didn't just ruin the whole thing.

"Oh, then why go at all?" Brooke asked seriously lost.

"Well I was thinking, maybe we could..visit Haley." Lucas said praying she wouldn't refuse now.

"Like she would even let us in." Brooke said.

"She will, I just want to see her ya know, talk to her about some stuff." Lucas said hoping she would go so he wouldn't have to do this alone.

"You mean convince her to come back to Nathan?" Brooke asked kind of catching on.

"Well, no, but if that comes up then.." Lucas said trying to not make it obvious that is exactly what he was going there for.

"Fine I'll go, but only on one condition." Brooke said with a slight smirk.

"What?" Lucas asked knowing what he was in for.

"One day dedicated to me and shopping!" Brooke almost yelled.

"I think I can arrange that." Lucas said with a smirk.

"Good!" Brooke squealed smiling.

* * *

**Haley…**

Haley sat on her bed, not knowing what to do next. Ever since Nathan came to visit her and broke up with her she has been a wreck. Relying on ice cream and chocolate, supposedly the remedy for a broken heart.

Flashback 

Haley sighed and watched the rain outside her NYC loft. Thinking about all the times her and Nathan spent together, sometimes smiling at the mere thought. Just wondering why in the world they weren't meant to be.

DING-DONG. Her doorbell of her loft rang.

"Nathan.." Haley thought as she ran to the door.

As she opened it she immediately felt all her hopes crash.

"Oh its just you." She said not really meaning anything by it.

"Nice to see you too Hales." The person said.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that." Haley said apologetically.

"Were you expecting someone else?" The voice asked.

"No..yes..not really, more like hoping someone would come." She said, tears welding in her eyes.

"Someone like..Nathan?" He asked.

"Stupid huh? Anyway, what are you doing here?" She asked really wanting to be alone.

"Just want to say hello to my favorite girl." The person said smiling.

"What do you want Chris, I'm really not in the mood" Haley said annoyed.

"Actually I really just wanted to see how you were doing, I heard about the break-up." Chris said sincerely sorry.

"Wow, work spreads just as quick as it did in Tree Hill huh?" Haley said not surprised.

"No, I actually heard it, its kind of hard not to with my room next to yours and the walls paper thin." Chris said slightly laughing.

"Oh, well I'm ok now, I have my moments but if I don't talk about it I'll last longer." Haley said almost about to break down.

"Well, I'll leave you alone, I just wanted to say I'm sorry and I'm here for you if you need to talk." Chris said meaningfully.

"Thanks Chris." She said with a small smile.

She closed the door and looked at her phone noticing that there was a message. She must have been sleeping when the phone rang, not knowing it was probably a good thing she was.

* * *

_**Theres the first chaper. Hope you liked it. Please review to let me know what you think and if I should continue. I'll post another chapter if I get at least 5 reviews.. :) Thanks again..**_

_** Haylie **_

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	2. Just Friends

**_Hey! Thanks soooo much for all the reviews, it made me happy that people were reading my story. Im soo sorry it took long to update but this weekend was crazy and I had no time to update, but i did finish so here's chapter 2:) enjoy! _  
**

** Brooke and Lucas…**

"Are you almost ready?" Lucas asked walking into Brooke's room.

"Almost, I'm just trying to make everything fit." Brooke said kind of frustrated sitting on her suitcase.

"Brooke, we are going for a couple of days, not months." Lucas said laughing at all the luggage on the ground.

"Luke, for one, this isn't a lot for me, and two, I'm a girl, and girls tend to..overpack." She said trying to make him understand.

"You're telling me, I think we are going to need another plane just for your luggage." Lucas said walking out the door.

When Lucas walked out, Brooke tried to process what he just said. When she finally understood she ran out of her room and after him.

"HEY!" This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

**Nathan…**

It was time for Nathan to give all he had for his tryouts for High Flyers. It has been about an hour now and he has made every shot asked of him. All the judges were very impressed. The final shot needed to be made. As Nathan ran he felt a slight pain in his knee, but he ignored it for the time being. As he went for this shot, he gave it his all. This was the moment of truth. He jumped to complete the shot. Suddenly, the pain in his knee grew more and more painful. The he felt it, a snap in his left knee. He fell to the ground with a hard bang. Then came the pain. Everyone rushed over to him.

"Are you ok?" asked a judge.

"No, it hurts like hell, and I usually can stand a lot of pain." Nathan replied, still on the ground.

"Okay, someone get the trainer now!" a man yelled.

Deb… 

Ring-Ring. The Scott's telephone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, may I please speak with Deb or Dan Scott please?" The voice said.

"Well, this is Deb, can I help you with something?"

"Yes, this is Mark, I'm the co-owner for High Flyers, we have your son Nathan here and he seems to have badly hurt his knee." The man said.

" Oh my goodness, is he ok?" Deb asked beginning to worry.

"Well he was just taken to the hospital to get it checked out, you can go there if you'd like." Mark said.

"Thank-you I will, thanks again for calling." Deb said almost halfway out the door.

"No problem." Mark said as he hung up.

"Oh God, why does everything have to happen to poor Nathan, please let him be okay." Deb said worried.

* * *

**Haley…**

Haley sat on her couch reading a magazine. Still thinking about listening to that message. Her conscience got to her and she walked over to her machine. She pushed the button and began to listen.

_Well, Well, Well, if it isn't Miss Rockstar. Guess you must be out signing autographs to your pathetic fans. Anyway, I'm wasting my breath so I'm going to get right to the point. I heard about you and my son, breaking up and I'm warning you, stay away from him, plus, he's already moved on, he already has another girlfriend and he's happier then ever and you wouldn't want to ruin that for him now would you? You've messed up his life enough. And if you mess up his life again, I will be sure to take care of you. _BEEP..End of messages.

Haley couldn't believe what she just heard. How dare Dan accuse her of ruining Nathan's life. But was he really happy without her? I mean he did already have another girlfriend. Haley felt her heart split in half. Maybe they _were_ better off without each other.

* * *

**Nathan and Deb…**

Deb walked out of the elevator to the floor where Nathan was. She walked up to the desk and the got attention of the receptionist.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes, my son, Nathan Scott, what room is he in?" Deb asked impatiently.

"Number 371, straight down the hall, take a left, and the room is on the right." The receptionist said.

"Thank-you very much." Deb said as she hurried off to see her son.

As Deb walked into her son's room he sat up ready to face her.

"Hey Nate." Deb said making sure she doesn't start off with an argument.

"I'm sorry Mom, I.." Nathan said ready to be lectured until he got cut off.

"Nathan, stop, okay I don't want to hear it, I just want to know if you're okay." Deb said truly only caring about his condition.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nathan said.

"Nathan, I don't call fine lying in a hospital bed in pain and a knee brace." Deb said.

Nathan sighed, "I just messed up my knee."

"What did the doctor say?" Deb asked impatiently.

"I tore a ligament and I might need surgery, if I don't get surgery, I may not be able to play basketball again without further problems." Nathan said, you could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"Well, how do you feel about it, I mean do you want surgery, are you willing to take that risk?" Deb asked.

"Yeah, I want this surgery. Doc said the faster I get it the sooner I'll be able to play." Nathan said moving to try to make himself comfortable in his bed.

"We'll just have to take it slow, your health is more important than basketball right now." Deb said seeing right through her son.

"Mom, as soon as I get this surgery I'll be back to ball in no time." Nathan said worrying only about his game.

"Nathan, I said we'll take it slow." Deb said getting quite frustrated.

"Whatever." Nathan sighed giving up for now.

"I'm going to go call the others." Deb said going towards the door.

"Oh, Mom..? Nathan asked.

"Yeah?" Deb asked.

"Don't tell Dan." Nathan said matter-of-factly.

"Nate, he's going to need to know and he's going to find out sooner or later." She said.

"I know but don't tell him yet." Nathan said.

"..Okay, I won't." Deb hesitated before she left the room.

* * *

**Haley…**

Another day in the boring loft of Haley James. The tours have finished for the year, which is why she is sitting inside doing nothing. There's only one other person, bored just like her. So she decided to go see him, just to talk. She stood in the hallway and knocked on the door to room 88. The door opened.

"Hey Haley." Chris said.

"Hey, can I come in?" Haley asked hopefully.

"Sure, is everything okay?" Chris asked worried.

" Yeah everything is fine, I was just bored so I thought we could do something.." Haley replied.

"Are you hungry?" Chris asked walking into the kitchen.

"Not if you're going to cook." Haley said, seeing the glare she was receiving she added, "kidding! but I'm kind of in the mood to go out to eat." Haley said.

"Okay, lets go then, my treat." Chris offered.

Haley hesitated at first then thought that it wouldn't hurt. "Sure." She said as they walked out of the room.

* * *

**Brooke and Lucas…**

Brooke and Lucas are now in the car on their way to New York City to see Haley. There was an uncomfortable silence, so Brooke decided to start conversation.

"So Luke, who's on your 'I want to date you' list now these days?" she asked putting on lipgloss.

"Nobody right now, I'm kind of enjoying the single life." Lucas replied.

"Lucas, single for more than 3 weeks, I don't think so." Brooke said laughing.

"You'd be surprised, I'm doing pretty well. There's just his one girl, but I don't think it will work out to well." Lucas said smirking.

"Come on Luke, you could get any girl you want." Brooke said now putting on blush.

"Well this one I can't get, se married to Nick Lachey." Lucas replied laughing when Brooke slapped his arm.

"So, Lucas Scott, not interested in any girls at the moment." Brooke said making sure she understood. But why did she care so much?

"Well, that is correct Brooke, man I can't even believe I'm talking to you about this." Lucas said laughing.

"You should know that you can tell me anything and ill listen. I'm here for you whenever you need me." Brooke said sincerely.

"Same here, you know you can always come to me." Luke said. "I'm really glad this whole friend thing is working out. I've never really been just friends with a girl except for Haley. But I'm glad that we can be just friends." He said smiling as he pulled up to order food at the drive up window.

"Yeah..just friends" Brooke said softly turning to look out the window.

Lucas heard this and saw how she turned the other way. He started at her with a confused look until the cashier at the register asked for his money.

As Brooke watched him eat, she started thinking to herself. 'I don't want to be just friends with you Lucas, but if that's what it takes to have you in my life, then that's what we'll be, just..friends.' She thought. Just as she stopped thinking she returned to looking out the window, as a tear slid down her cheek.

* * *

**_So, tell me what you think..review review review! Thanks again to the reviewers for reviewing last time. I should have another chapter update in a couple of days, so probably in 2 days hopefully.. _**

**_:) Haylie _**


	3. An Unexpected Surprise

_**So sorry it took so long to update. It's been crazy, I've been at gymnastics all week getting ready for our recital thing so I didn't have much time to write but heres chapter 3 hope you like it :)**_

**Haley and Chris…**

Just sitting down, Haley and Chris started discussing how the tour went this year and plans for perhaps another one next fall. Haley wasn't really in the mood to talk about the tour right now, but she didn't want to be rude so she listened. Luckily for her, the appetizers came so they both started eating.

"So, have you heard from Nathan lately?" Chris asked.

"No, I don't think we even have a friendship anymore, which sucks, but I'll get over it." Haley said as she played with the food in her dish. She sighed as she took another bite.

"Well, you still have home wrecker me." Chris said sarcastically as he took a sip of his drink.

"Chris, you're not a home wrecker, it was just, Nathan and I were together and with you in the picture he was jealous and I was stuck in between." Haley said apologetically.

"Yeah, but now that he won't be jealous anymore, can we be friends now?" Chris asked.

"Of course we can." Haley said thinking nothing of the situation at hand. After she said that, all Chris could think about was how, and when to make his move. All he knew for sure was that it was going to be tonight.

* * *

**Nathan and Deb…**

Nathan was being released from the hospital today. He just signed his forms and was on his way to his mother's car.

"How's your knee?" Deb asked looking at him.

"Hurts, but I'm still alive." Nathan replied.

"Well. You'll feel the effects of the surgery in a couple of weeks." Deb assured.

"You didn't tell Dan right?" Nathan asked.

"No, but I do think you should call someone else." Deb said.

"Who?" Nathan asked hobbling into the car.

"Promise not to yell and me and that you will call?" Deb asked.

"Who Mom?" Nathan asked getting impatient.

"Well, I think you should call Haley." Deb said afraid to get yelled at.

"You know, I was thinking of that, but I don't think she would listen." Nathan said. You could hear the disappointment in his voice.

"Well, why wouldn't she?" Deb asked not following.

"Well..I was kind of ruff on her when I broke up with her, I'm sure she really probably hates me now." Nathan said hesitantly.

"Oh Nathan, look I don't want to get in that situation now, but the only way you truly know if she hates you or not is if you call her. Plus it's the polite thing to do. Wouldn't you want to know if your ex-girlfriend was in the hospital?" Deb pointed out, trying to get through to her son. Apparently it was working.

"I guess you're right, I'll try, I just don't know if she'll listen." Nathan said pulling out his cell phone. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

**Lucas and Brooke…**

It was getting late and Lucas and Brooke weren't quite in New York Yet. Brooke was sleeping. As Lucas noticed this he turned toward her and smiled thinking how peaceful she looks when she sleeps. When Lucas turned to look back at the road, he heard a loud pop.

"Damn!" He yelled waking up the peacefully sleeping Brooke.

"What.. What happened? Are we there yet?" She asked drowsy.

"No, but it's going to be longer now, we just popped a tire." Lucas said turning off the engine.

"Well, what are we going to do, I can't change a tire!" Brooke said panicking.

"I wasn't planning on asking you to." Lucas said laughing.

"Good." She sighed. "Well, now what are we going to do?" Brooke asked looking at Lucas fear written all over her face.

"Well gas stations and auto shops are closed, we're just going to have to wait 'til morning." Lucas said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

"Ew.. There is no way I'm sleeping in a car!" Brooke exclaimed panicking again for sleeping in a car.

"Then we'll go to a motel for the night, I have money to get two rooms." Lucas explained.

"Okay, well there's one across the street, so lets see if they got any rooms." Brooke pointed out.

"Good idea." Lucas said as he got out of the car.

* * *

**Haley and Chris…**

Haley and Chris had just started looking through the menu. Chris thought that now was the time to tell her how he really felt.

"Haley, there's something I need to tell you." Chris said prepared to spill his heart out.

"What's up?" Haley asked looking a little concerned.

"I…" Chris was cut off by the ring of Haley's cell phone. Chris sighed and motioned for her to answer it.

Haley reached into her purse and finally pulled out her phone thinking she should have turned it off. She gasped when she saw Nathan Cell on the caller I.D.

"I, uh, I need to take this." She said still shocked.

Chris didn't even get to say okay before she ran off to the restroom. As Haley got into the bathroom she blinked a few times to make sure she was seeing straight. She gulped as she picked up the phone.

* * *

**Nathan…**

Nathan sat in his room hearing the phone ring thinking to himself 'she's not going to pick up.' Just then he heard that sweet voice that he's been longing to hear for months now.

"Hello?" Haley asked into the phone. Nathan closed his eyes, almost lost for words. He took a deep breath and then greeted her back.

"Hi Haley, it's um, it's Nathan." He said nervously.

"Hey." She said back. Nathan could hear the nervousness in her voice, which made him smile because he thought it was cute.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm just out to dinner with a friend." She said not wanting to say who it was.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you."

"No it's okay, is everything alright?"

"Actually no, that's why I'm calling."

"What's wrong?" She asked beginning to worry. Thoughts of people she loved began racing in her head.

"Well, I went to try out for High Flyers and I hurt my knee really bad. I just got home from the hospital, I had surgery and now I'm just recovering. I just thought I should let you know." He said waiting for any kind of response from her.

"Oh my god, why didn't you call earlier, I would have come down – " Haley said but Nathan cut her off before she could finish.

"I didn't want you to, I know you're busy."

"Actually, I'm not, the tours are over."

"Well, then I'm sorry for not calling, but I', fine, everyone's fine. I should get going, plus I'm holding you from your dinner date."

"Just dinner, no date." She said correcting him.

"Okay, so I guess I should go…" he said not really wanting to go.

"Okay." She replied.

"It was good to hear your voice." He said not realizing what slipped out of his mouth.

"Yeah, it was good to hear yours too." She said truly meaning it.

"Wait, Haley?"

"Yeah?" she replied curiously.

"Maybe we can talk again sometime, soon."

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Well… Bye." Nathan said not wanting to hang up. They both hung up with smiles on their face.

* * *

**Haley…**

Haley walked back to the table with a big smile on her face.

"Who was on the phone?" Chris asked.

"Well, believe it or not, Nathan. Haley replied still smiling from the call.

Chris felt his heart sink. All his plans were crushed.

"Oh, well that's good." Chris replied. It's not that he didn't want to see her happy. He just wanted to be the reason why she was.

"Yeah, he got hurt, had surgery, but now he's fine, and I guess we're talking." Haley said, still the smile plastered on her face.

"That's great Haley. I hope it all works out for you." He said kind of upset.

"Well, we're just talking, we're not serious or thinking about getting back together or anything." Haley assured him. "Plus Dan said he moved on and has a girlfriend." Haley said, you could hear the disappointment in her voice.

Chris knew it was a lie, but decided to go along with it since it might give him a chance.

"Even if he has, he shouldn't have let you get away, any guy would be lucky to have you in their life." Chris said slightly making his point.

"Aww, thanks Chris, you're so sweet. I don't know what I'd do without you, you're such a good friend." Hearing this make Chris squirm. He wanted her to be more than a friend and Chris Keller always gets what he wants. All he had to do was find a way to get Nathan out of the picture… for good.

* * *

Review, Review, Review. I didn't get many reviews last time but you guys have to review so I know whether to keep updating or not. So let's shoot for 5 more reviews to make 15 total. When that little blue number above says 15 I shall review again. lol . Thanks again to those reviewers!

Much love,

..Haylie..


	4. Broken Couches and Second Thoughts

**Hey guys! Im back! I did delete the Author's noteI posted becauseI know that it bothers me when i'm reading a story and I get all into it and i'm like awsome next chapter! and its only an authors note lol SoI got rid of it for you guys. I know this chapter is kind of short but its hard getting back into the swing of things. I will be updating more nowI promiseI wont let it go that long ever again! I kind of want this story to be one of those really long ones so well see how far I can get. But now i'm rambling so enjoy...

* * *

****Brooke and Lucas…**

Lucas led Brooke into the Motel and up to the front desk. They needed a place to stay and just hoped there would be enough room. Stopping at the desk, the receptionist looked at the two and smiled. Her nametag read Jenn.

"Hi, we are having some car trouble and we need a place to stay the night, do you have anything open?" Lucas asked.

"I'm sorry just about all the rooms are taken for this concert that is in town and there's no available rooms. Someone just cancelled but we need to leave that room open for people involved with the concert." Replied Jenn.

Brooke couldn't believe it. There was no way she was not staying in this hotel tonight if she had anything to do with it. She smiled and put on her 'I'm getting my way' face.

"Listen, Jenn is it? We're on our way to New York and we're having a little car trouble and I am SO not sleeping in a car for the night. If you were taking a road trip and your car had some issues would you want to sleep in a tiny car all scrunched up with these shoes! I don't think so! So how about that room?" The conversation started out calm, but by the end of it Brooke was frustrated and yelling.

"Brooke, calm down I don't think that's necessary if there's no room I'm sure there are other hotels.." Lucas tried to reason with her.

"Lucas were already here and I'm not walking in the pitch black to some hotel 3 miles from here!" Her mind was set and nothing was going to change it.

"Alright, I guess I can work something out. Here's the key, the room is on the 3rd floor number 104, enjoy." Jenn said finally giving in after some hesitation.

"Thank you Julie!" Brooke replied excited that she finally got her way.

"It's Jenn!" The receptionist replied getting a little frustrated with this girl.

* * *

**Nathan and Deb…**

Nathan walked, well actually hobbled with crutches downstairs the next morning. He reached into the cabinet and pulled out some cereal. He started to make the cereal when Deb walked down the stairs to make her breakfast.

"Good morning Nathan." Deb said, trying to start conversation before she could pry to the good stuff.

"Hey, so um, I took your advice and I called Haley." Nathan said, knowing this is what she wanted to know.

"Did she answer and talk to you?" Deb asked sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, um we talked for a little while, she was actually out to dinner with a friend so she couldn't stay on long, but I guess things are okay between us." Nathan told her as he sat down next to her, frustrated with not being able to walk and throwing his crutches on the ground.

"Well that's good, I told you she wouldn't be mad, that girl loves you." Deb said winking at him.

"Mom, were not together anymore it doesn't even matter. How much you want to bet that she wasn't out to dinner with just a friend, more like a boyfriend." Nathan said, beginning to disappoint himself.

"Are you still whining over that girl, Son?" None other than Dan Scott asked walking into the kitchen. Moving Nathan's crutches so he wouldn't trip.

"Dan, now's not a good time. And can you not put his crutches in another room he needs them to walk you know." Deb said clearly frustrated with him.

"Oh Deb, such the overprotective mother. He doesn't need those crutches, he's a Scott he'll be just fine. Won't you Son?" Dan asked smirking towards Nathan.

"Whatever Dad, I'm going out for some air, not sure when I'll be back. Don't wait up." Nathan said sarcastically. He limped past his crutches and walked out the door.

"Nathan, your crut…" Deb was cut off by the front door slamming. She just looked at Dan and he smirked right back at her. All she could think of was how much she truly hated this man for ruining not only her life, but her son's as well.

* * *

**Lucas and Brooke…**

Lucas took the key and unlocked the door to the room. They walked inside and were grossed out by the scene in front of them. The room was small, not any bigger then maybe 3 rooms put together. The kitchen was so tiny only one person could be in it at a time. The faucet was dripping and half of the cabinets wouldn't close. The tile was half ripped off so cement was showing. In the living room, there were holes in the couch and a TV that looked like it had been there since the 1800's. The bed was no bigger then a full size bed, and looked to be the only intact thing in the entire room. They didn't even want to look in the bathroom fearing what the hell they would see in there.

"Well, isn't this cozy!" Brooke said sarcastically.

"Okay well, the bed looks comfortable so why don't you go ahead and take it, and I'll sleep on the couch." Lucas said looking around the room, assessing what they had to work with here.

"Lucas, what couch? There are so many holes in that thing it's like sleeping on springs. It would be so uncomfortable and I don't want to hear you complain so don't be stupid, there's enough room on here for both of us. It's just one night, it's not like were strangers, were friends right?" Brooke asked. She didn't mind sleeping in the same bed as Lucas even if they were only friends.

"Uh, yeah, right. Okay." Lucas hesitated on the whole friends thing, but that's what she wants and he is going to respect that. He smiled at her as she walked into the bathroom, or what was left of it, to get changed for bed.

* * *

**Haley…**

Ever since the night that Nathan called, he's been on her mind. More than usual. She sat up that night wondering if he really had a girlfriend, if she was pretty. Maybe she's prettier then her, or maybe she has something that Haley couldn't give Nathan. Wasn't she good enough? I guess love wasn't enough these days.

Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, surprisingly they went to Chris. He was being awfully nice lately, most of the time he was a sarcastic jerk but that's what she loved about him. In a platonic way of course. But he wanted to hang out with her more and was going out to dinner with her more. Did he feel this was more then it really was? She would have to talk to him about it. But right now her bed was calling her.

* * *

**Nathan…**

He'd been walking for quite a while until he found himself at the docks. He sat down at the table where Haley used to tutor him. He remembered that day so well, how she smelled, what she was wearing, how her smile sparkled every time he got something right. She got him and that was the bottom line. She understood him more then even his parents did. He shook those thoughts out of his mind. He continued walking/hobbling for a while until he found himself at the river court. He missed basketball so much. The camp was giving him an automatic chance to try-out next year since they were already too far into training. He sat down on the benches surrounding the court. He was just thinking about how it all started.

He couldn't believe how _one_ challenge of one on one with Lucas would change his life forever. This was where it all started. The game that changed his life forever. This is where he met his brother, who he had gotten to know over the past year. They could even consider themselves civil with one another. Somehow this all narrows down to her. He only agreed to be tutored by her so he could take her away from Lucas. Until it turned into so much more. He never had so much love for a person like that before. He loved her more than anything and would do anything for her. Until she met that Chris character.

When he found out they had kissed he didn't want to hear any part of the story. He had put his heart out on the line and for once was perfectly happy with his life until Chris had to come and screw it up. He didn't listen to her long enough for her to explain herself to him. What would have happened if he had stayed to listen to her before she left for the tour without so much as a goodbye? Would he have forgiven her and would they be together and happy again? Now that they were talking, were they civil enough to talk like friends after the really ugly break-up? All these thoughts were jumbled in his head. But one thought stuck out like sore thumb. And that thought was…did they still have a chance to be together because he missed her like crazy and didn't know how much longer he could handle it.

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**What did you guys think? Good enough for not updating in like 5 months! lol once again i'm soo sorry but i'm back so no worries. Please review soI know at least some people are reading this andI will update just for those people!SpecialThanks tothe reviewers who have stuck with me so far!So look for another update hopefully in a couple of days if not definitly in the beginning of next week. Thanks!**

**Much love,**

**..Haylie..**


	5. The Truth Nobody Likes to Hear

**Hey guys! Well here is the next chapter! I hope you like it. I can't believe it's back to school tomorrow but its supposed to snow so hopefully there is a snowday in future? haha..on a sad note I only got 2 reviews! Thanks to LuvAngel448 and Doveangel1213 for reviewing! But I need more reviews please! ok so on with the story...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any aspect of One Tree Hill or any of the characters except for those that you don't recognize because I made them up. Also I make a brief reference to the New England Patriots, I do not own them either but they are my favorite football team ever! so don't sue please! thanksss :)**

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**Haley…**

Haley woke up to a knocking sound. She groaned and rolled over in her bed. The clock said 7:02. _'Who the hell would be here at this time?'_ She thought. Regretfully she got out of bed and went to the door. Opening it she jumped back in surprise when she saw a huge balloon with Happy 18th on it.

"Chris, what the hell is this?" She asked still half asleep.

"Happy Birthday Hales!" Exclaimed Chris. A young girl emerged from behind him and Haley noticed this.

"Chris, it's not my birthday, my birthday isn't for 2 more months." She said like it was the most obvious thing.

"I know! But I thought we could pretend it was and we could get free breakfast at The Pancake Shack!" Chris replied obviously exciting himself as he went along.

Ignoring him, Haley directed her attention to the girl just standing there.

"Who's that?" She asked pointing to the girl.

"Oh this is Nicole, she's the newest addition to the tour!" He said, shoving Nicole closer to Haley so she could see her.

"Oh, but the tours over. You mean she's going to be stuck with you until your next tour, good luck to you, he's a trip." She said turning to Nicole.

"See that is where your wrong Haley, this is the other reason I came up here to talk to you. Chris Keller is a genius."

"You mean other then to wake me up and bother me?" Haley asked getting annoyed and about to turn back into her room and go back to sleep.

"I talked to Michelle and our tour manager and we took on a couple more shows." Chris said, looking at Haley for her response.

"What did you just say?" Now the half asleep Haley was fully awake.

"You heard me, we have 2 more shows. One is in Madison Square Garden and the second one is in.." Chris mumbled the last part and Haley couldn't hear what he said.

"I'm sorry where is the second one?" She asked getting impatient.

"Tree Hill."

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**Nathan…**

After leaving himself to think at the river court that night, he went home for some much needed sleep. He awoke to a loud clap of thunder. Great. Now he was up. He rolled over and looked at the clock. 8:00. Getting himself up he jumped in the shower. 45 Minutes later he was all dressed and ready to go. He walked downstairs to grab some breakfast. No one was in the house. He figured Dan was at the dealership and Deb, well he didn't know where she was, but he was all alone. He decided to call Lucas to see if he wanted to go play basketball. He quickly changed his mind when he remember it was still raining.

He walked into the living room and turned on the television. He began to flip through the channels to find something to watch.

_'..and the high school graduate is the first draft pick for the New England Patriots..'_ (click)

_'…rain storm lasting throughout the day today and ending sometime in the early morning..'_ (click)

Nathan gave up watching the television. He looked at the clock and it read 11:30. He heard the door open and close again. Deb walked into the kitchen and saw her son.

"Nathan, what are you doing home? I figured you'd be out playing ball with Lucas or something down at the River Court." Deb said as she placed her briefcase down and turned her attention to her son.

"Incase you haven't noticed Mom, it's raining." Nathan said laughing a little.

"Right. Well have you talked to Lucas lately." Deb asked.

"No actually, now that you mention it, I haven't seen him around either." Nathan said noticing for the first time.

"Why don't you call him, maybe you guys could go do something together." Deb said to him as she began to walk up the stairs.

"Yeah I'll call him and find out what's up with him." Nathan said taking out his cell phone.

* * *

**Brooke and Lucas…**

Lucas woke up to Brooke's hand on top of his face. _'She sure does sprawl when she sleeps.'_ He thought. He gently moved her arm off of his face trying not to wake her. He was successful at not waking her, so he slid out of the bed. For the most part it was a comfortable night. Until Brooke decided to put her hands and/or arms on his face. He walked into the kitchen. He was hungry but there was no food, or a working stove for that matter. All of a sudden his cell phone rang. He went into the bedroom fast so that he didn't wake Brooke up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, where have you been? I haven't seen you around town lately. What did you do run away?" Nathan laughed.

"Actually.." Lucas began but he was cut off but a sleepy Brooke.

"Who's that Lucas?" Brooke asked as she walked up to him.

"Dude, is that Brooke? Oh you have got to be kidding me, that's why you've been held up this week?" Nathan asked. Sort of not wanting to know.

"No, that's not why. Well it's part of it, but not the whole reason. We're sort of not in Tree Hill." Lucas said hesitantly.

"Who is that Lucas?" Brooke said beginning to get impatient.

Lucas covered the phone with his hand. "It's Nathan, he wants to know why he hasn't seen me lately. What do I say? He's going to be pissed that we didn't tell him we were going to see Haley."

"Tell him that you wanted to take me shopping!" Brooke exclaimed with a grin on her face thinking she was a genius for thinking that.

"I took you all the way to New York just to shop?" Lucas laughed making her realize that Nathan would not be convinced.

"Hey, you never said it had to make sense I was just trying to help." Brooke said throwing her hands in the air frustrated. She walked back into the living room leaving Lucas to fend for himself.

"Dude, you there?" Nathan asked after not hearing him for about 5 minutes.

"Yeah, sorry man. Um, listen Brooke and I, we're kind of taking a road trip. We're on our way to New York City…to see Haley." Lucas said getting it out faster then he had planned in his mind.

"I'm sorry I thought you just said you were going to see Haley." Nathan said getting upset.

"Well, you heard right. Now don't get mad, you guys aren't even dating anymore and I just wanted to see my best friend. I know I probably should have told you but I didn't and I'm sorry." He said trying to change Nathan's mind about being upset with him about this.

"No, you know what, your right. I have no reason to be mad so …I'm not. Uh, listen I have to go, my mom needs me for something. I'll talk to you later. Bye" Nathan got off the phone really fast.

"Nate, wait." Lucas tried to stop him but he had already hung up. Lucas began to feel bad for Nathan. He knew he still loved Haley he just had to admit it to himself.

"What did he say?" Brooke asked, entering the room again.

"He said he wasn't mad, but then he got off the phone really quick. You know, I feel bad for him, I know that he loves her he just needs to make himself realize it."

"I told you to tell him you were taking me shopping." Brooke said knowingly.

Disregarding what she just said Lucas continued to talk about his brother. "You know, I think he's just scared to let her know how he feels, because he's scared of rejection."

"He shouldn't be afraid of rejection. If they were together once, obviously something was there. Feelings just don't go away after a relationship. The love for that person is always there, sometimes it just needs a little help being resurfaced." Brooke said to him. They just stared at each other for a moment. Silence filling the air.

"Maybe he's afraid that she won't want her feelings to resurface." Lucas said staring intently at her.

"Maybe he should just take a risk and find that out for sure." She said as she walked away.

Lucas stood there wondering if they were talking about his brother's relationship or if the conversation they just had, was about him and Brooke's relationship status instead.

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**Ok guys there it is chapter 5. What did you think? I know it wasn't too interesting but I needed to set up future story lines. Please review I only got 2 reviews last time and it made me sad. So I'll make a deal..I have an even 30 reviews and I will update again when i have at least 33 thats only 3 reviews but I need to know that people are reading this story otherwise I will end it and I dont want to do that so review review review!**

**Much Love,**

**..Haylie...**


	6. Road Trips and Late Night Surprises

**Hey guys! SNOW DAY TODAY!So here is Chapter 6 after 34 reviews actually! Just like I promised. Sadly I probably won't be able to update until Friday night or Saturday night. This week is crazy. I havesome conference thing at my school that I have to go to tomorrow night and I have my first two High School Gymnastics meets (YIKES!) Friday I do have practice but I should be out early enough to post another Chapter but incase I don't, I will try to post one after my meet on saturday. Totally not ready for them but whatever I know you don't need to hear about my issues lol! So anyway look for another chapter up either Friday or Saturday night. So enough of my rambling and I hope you enjoy!Oh! and before I forget I just want to thank my Loverly reviewers: lilmonkeygirl31, LuvAngel448, Brucas03, and xSmile for reviewing this time. :

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****Brooke and Lucas…**

Getting in the car after staying the night in that ratty hotel, Brooke and Lucas started off on the road to their now 2-hour road trip to NYC. The car was filled with silence until Brooke filled the air with her voice.

"You know Broody, I've been thinking. When we get to New York, are we going to see Tutorgirl and the sneaky psycho first and shop later, or shop first and see them later?" Brooke asked getting excited that they were almost there.

"I was thinking we should see Haley first. I mean we are mainly up there for her we're not going to shop the entire time, you do know that, right Brooke?" Lucas asked smirking at her.

"I know that Lucas. Do I look like I'm stupid? Wait, never mind don't answer that. I just don't want to be around that Chris guy for too long. He kind of freaks me out. He thinks I'm into him or something and I'm totally not!" Brooke was babbling on and on and Lucas couldn't get a word in. And just when he thinks he's able to talk, all of a sudden she gasps really loud and continues. "What if he breaks into my room and pulls a Wynonna and steals some of my really expensive creams or make-up and does some freaky psycho punk rock voodoo on me!" At this point she basically scared herself so much, her eyes were almost popping out of her head.

"Brooke, one, calm down! Two, he's not going to voodoo you. If it makes you feel any better I'll keep him away from you okay?" Lucas says turning to her.

Brooke just turned to look at Lucas. She smiled at him with a big smile and her big sparkling eyes. "Thanks Lucas, I really mean it." She said softly.

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**Haley...**

"You have got to be kidding me. There is a tour date set in Tree Hill?" Haley asked not believing him.

"No, I'm not kidding. I don't see why it's such a big deal I mean you'll get to see all your old friends again." Chris tried to reason with her to make her go.

"Well, there's not many people to see, they all hate me for leaving." Haley sadly replied.

"You're talking to Nathan now though right, maybe you can get things back on track with him." Chris tried to reason again. He thought he might have finally gotten through.

"Well I wouldn't say that I 'got back on track with him' but I guess I should call and warn him, I mean incase he wants to skip town for the night." She said as she rolled her eyes sarcastically. She picked up her cell phone and walked out of the room. She looked through her phone book and dialed Nathan's cell phone number.

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**Nathan…**

Nathan was finishing up an essay that he had to write when his phone rang. He ran around crazy trying to find his phone. Finally when he found it he had to look twice to be sure of what he saw. _'Haley'_. He found a smile coming to his face and he answered the phone.

"Hello?" He asked into the phone. Not really knowing what to expect.

"Hey Nate, it's um, it's Haley." She replied hesitating a little bit. He could tell she was nervous.

"Hey, how are you?" he asked trying to make non-awkward conversation.

"I'm good. Actually I was just calling because I wanted to tell you, or warn you or whatever that I have a couple more shows added on to the tour, and I'm doing a one in Tree Hill in a couple of days, and I'm letting you know now in case you wanted to skip town and escape or something." She rambled, laughing lightly towards the end.

"Haley, I'm not going to skip town because you're coming back to Tree Hill. I don't want things to be awkward between us. Maybe..I could even see you when you're down here." Nathan said, nervously asking to see her.

"Um, yeah that would be great. Do you want me to call you when I get down there or.." Haley asked. She couldn't help the big grin that spread across her face.

"Yeah, call me when you get to wherever you are staying and I'll let you know when I'm free and maybe we could have lunch or something." Nathan said to her as he got up from the computer desk.

"Ok, I will. So I guess ill talk to you later then?"

"Yeah, you bet. Bye Hales." Nathan ended the call with a smile. But he didn't notice someone was around the corner listening to his phone call and scheming up plan to once and for all ruin any feelings still there between Nathan and Haley.

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

"Are we there yet?" Brooke whined to Lucas. The ride had been silent except for the occasional radio stations being turned on and off.

"No Brooke not yet." Lucas replied laughing at her.

"Well how much longer?" Brooke said yet again whining to him like an impatient child.

"About 5 minutes closer since you asked last time. And about 10 minutes closer since you asked the time before that." Lucas said smirking over at her.

"Fine Lucas you know what, I won't talk for the rest of the ride there." Said Brooke being stubborn.

Lucas laughed hard at this. "Right Brooke, you being quiet for a whole hour, somehow I don't see that happening."

Brooke looked shocked. "I'll have you know I can be quiet for one whole hour."

"Then why haven't you started yet?" Lucas asked suppressing a laugh.

Brooke tried to open her mouth to say something but Lucas quickly turned to her once again suppressing a giggle. "Hey! No talking."

Brooke just sat there and looked out the window. She had the biggest pout on her face. She had been defeated and she knew it. Now she had to show Lucas up. She had to be quiet for a whole hour. _'Why did I agree to this again?'_ She thought. The rest of the ride up was quiet for her. Nothing going through her head except her plans of what she would do when they got there. But little did they know, this trip would affect all of them in a way that no one would ever have thought of.

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**Haley…**

Haley had just finished making dinner and she sat down on her couch to get ready to watch some television. She heard a knock at her door and couldn't figure out who would be at her door at this time. She knew that Chris was out with the new girl Nicole that just recently joined the tour so it wouldn't be him. Confused she walked to her front door. She opened it and nothing could have prepared her for what she saw behind it.

"Dan.."

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**Well I hope you all enjoyed this Chapter. Once again I know it is short and probably boring but I promise I'm setting up future story lines so bare with me! And Review Review! thanks so much for the reviewers so far. Keep it up! I will update either friday or saturday like I said but I would also like to have at least 37 reviews?..please lol! Thanks again.**

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	7. This Just Got Interesting

**Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I had so many competitions in the past two weeks I was barely even home and I didnt have any time to write anything. But I have a week break and I decided to post another chapter. I have midterms this week and another competition on saturday so I will try to post another chapter after that. So look for the next chapter sometime next week. Once again sorry for the delay. Dont hate me too much:( The good news is I only have 2 more competitions left of the season so I should be updating more frequently after there done. Also thanks tomy reviewers that reviewed last chapter: Miki012, Brucas03, Naley is L.O.V.E, and lilmonkeygirl31. Your reviews mean so much to me so thanks again! ok enough of my rambling..enjoy!

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**Haley…**

"Dan, what the hell are you doing here?" Haley asked shocked as ever to find him at the other side of her door.

"Well, it's nice to see you too." He replied with a smirk. Ever since he heard Nathan talking to Haley on the phone the other night, he knew that he had to make up a plan so that they would never be together again. The only way was to show up at her door and try to take her down.

"Seriously, you're really starting to creep me out, what are you doing in my apartment?" She asked failing to stop him from getting in her apartment.

"Look, I'll just get right to the point. I overheard my son talking to you on the phone and I was surprised. I thought I had made it clear before that I don't want you near my son." He said with a voice that really started to creep Haley out. But she convinced herself he was just trying to scare her. She wouldn't let him see what she was feeling.

"I'm not even dating Nathan anymore, I'm just doing a tour down there and I wanted to see him, is that so bad?" She began to yell as she started to loose her patience with him.

"Look, all I am saying is that Nathan is off limits to you, and like I said before he has already moved on, he's over you, I don't know why you insist on trying to get back with someone who doesn't even want you anymore." He said as he began to walk towards the door.

"You say he's moved on, then why hasn't he told me himself, don't you think he would have at least told me about who he was seeing?" Ha! She thought she got him now.

"Ever think maybe he doesn't think you need to know everything about his life anymore. Trust me, he doesn't want you, he has moved on and if you even as much try to go near my son, you'll be sorry." He walked out the front door and slammed it without even looking back.

Haley just stared at the door thinking about everything he just said. She knew she shouldn't believe Dan of all people. But she just couldn't get through her head the things that he said. Did Nathan really truly move on? Did he want nothing to do with her anymore? She walked into her bedroom, laid down and stared up at the ceiling. She had a hard time getting to sleep that night. But once she did, she kept waking up every hour of the night thinking about what Dan had said. After everything she went through why could the things that involved Nathan still matter to her so much? Oh yeah, that's right, because she still loved him that's why.

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

Lucas was still driving but they were almost at Haley's apartment. He looked over to see Brooke sleeping. Her face was against the window. She looked really uncomfortable but that's the thing about Brooke. She is such a heavy sleeper, you could put her on a bunch of rocks and somehow, someway she will sleep like a baby. She had been sleeping for about 12 hours. He wondered how someone could possibly sleep that long. As a matter of fact he had just pulled into Haley's apartment complex. He poked Brooke a couple of times but she hadn't gotten up yet. He got out of his side of the car and walked around to the passenger's side. He tapped on the glass a couple of times. Still nothing. He tapped harder and this time shouted her name.

"Brooke!"

Brooke jumped back from the glass and looked confused as hell as to where she was. Until she remembered. Let's just say she wasn't too happy with Lucas right now.

"Lucas! What the hell? Why couldn't you wake me up like a normal person, not by tapping on glass like you're trying to wake a damn fish up or something?"

"I poked you a couple of times and nothing really happened. For a minute there I even had to check if you were breathing." He joked. He started to laugh until he got a look from her that basically told him to stop before she hit him.

"Don't make fun of how I sleep. I don't abuse you to wake you up! Hey, wait a second. Why are you out of the car? Are we here?" Amazing how she could change from one subject to the next in a matter of about .02 nano seconds.

"Yeah, this is Haley's apartment. Let's go see if we can catch her before she starts her daily routine, whatever that may be."

"But you just woke me up and I look like crap. You couldn't have stopped at, oh I don't know someone I could freshen up?" She was beginning to get mad again.

"Brooke, you don't look like crap, you're just as beautiful when you first wake up as when you have been up for hours. Now lets go!" Lucas said. Smiling to himself. He couldn't believe he had just said that to her.

He walked away from the car and began to walk up to Haley's apartment. Brooke was still in the car. She was stunned that he just said that to her. Was he really flirting with her when he said she's beautiful? She sad there for a few more seconds until she realized she was alone, in a car, in the middle of New York City.

"Luke! Wait up!"

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**Dan…**

After leaving Haley's door he saw a beautiful woman walking into the elevator on her way out. Dan quickly followed her into the elevator. It was just the two of them.

"Hi, I'm Dan." He said smiling over to the woman.

"And I'm too young for you." She cleverly said back.

"Well, aren't you just charming. I'm married for your information. How old are you anyway?" He asked. He liked her attitude, and a plan began to develop in his evil little brain.

"I'm 18. I just came here to visit my brother. He just got out of the hospital and he doesn't really have any money so I came to live with him for a little while to help him out."

"How kind of you. So you are short on money you say? I think I can help you with that." To Dan, this just got a whole lot more interesting.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you." She thought he was pretty ridiculous.

"I think we can arrange something." He smirked at her. She really needed the money she just didn't know what this guy would make her do. She just had to trust him.

"Okay, what do I have to do?"

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**Haley…**

Haley was working on a new song when she heard a knock on her door. She got up and answered it.

"Luke? Oh my God!" She brought him into a hug and he picked her up off the ground and spun her around.

"Hales! We've missed you so much!"

"We? Who's we?" Haley asked a bit confused to only find him standing there but talking about a "we".

"Oh Brooke came with me. She's around here somewhere." He said. He began to get a bit confused himself until he saw her barreling around the corner.

"Tutor girl!"

"Hey Brooke. How are you?" Haley asked smiling. She always found Brooke to be really hyper all the time.

"Pretty good. So how's the rockstar life treating you?" Brooke asked making herself right at home.

"It's okay. I'm actually coming to Tree Hill for a few days. There's only a couple more tour dates and one is actually in Tree Hill."

"That's awesome Hales. So we just decided to come visit you. Surprised?" Lucas asked while he was intensely searching around her apartment, looking at pictures and awards for her music.

"Yeah, actually I am. Are you sure you both came to visit me or did you just come to take this one shopping?" Haley asked smiling as she pointed to Brooke who was at this point going through Haley's closet picking out all the clothes that she liked.

"Of course we came to visit you Tutorgirl, but I do want to fit shopping in. We should totally have a girl's day out and shop. Oh! How about right now! I'm in the mood for shopping, how about you? Great! Lets go!" Haley wasn't even able to get a word in edgewise, before Brooke started dragging her by the arm towards the door. Haley looked at Lucas and mouthed a '_sorry_'.

"Don't worry about me, I'll just sit here…all by myself…and do nothing." Lucas said as he sat down on the couch as the girls walked towards the door.

"Don't worry Luke, you'll figure something out, go see a basketball game or something. Go New York Lakers!" Brooke said just as she closed the door, well rather slammed the door shut in excitement.

"Nick's! It's the New York Nick's!" He yelled through the door laughing at Brooke's lack of basketball knowledge.

"Whatever!" She yelled back. Lucas just sat there and laughed. That girl was just amazing to him.

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**Nathan…**

Nathan was on his way to the Rivercourt. He was bored just sitting in his house and decided to take a walk there. When he got there he began shooting baskets. He usually did this when he was bored or alone. Even when Haley left to go on tour, he would come here to shoot out his anger and his disappointment, but most of all his guilty feeling that he wasn't good enough for her.

"Basketball player I see. You're pretty good." Nathan turned around to see a girl about his age with blonde hair and blue eyes, she was gorgeous. She was wearing a jean skirt and a light pink tank top looking like it was made out of a silk material. She wore pink flip-flops that were the same color as her top. She walked over to Nathan and stood in front of him.

"Thanks. I haven't seen you around before, are you new here?" Nathan asked figuring he could at least be nice to her.

"You could say that. I'm Lauren." She said sticking her hand out.

"Nathan." He shook her hand in return. "You play?" He asked her.

"No, I watch. I enjoy watching a bunch of hot guys chase after a ball and try to put it through a hoop." Lauren said. Nathan didn't know what to say to that. Was she trying to flirt with him?

"So superstar are you actually on a team or do you just play for fun?" She asked winking as she took the ball from him.

"I play for Tree Hill High. Do you go to school there?" He asked her.

"I do now. I just signed up yesterday, so I should be started classes tomorrow." She dribbled the basketball a little and then attempted to shoot it. She missed the basket completely.

"Well, as you can see I suck at this, maybe you could teach me sometime." She said as she winked at him. "I think I've embarrassed myself enough as it is. I should get going. I guess I'll see you around." She smiled at him and turned around and began to walk back towards wherever she came from.

Nathan just stood there wondering what just happened. He had never seen her around before, but she was beautiful. She looked like the kind of person that when they knew what they wanted, they would go after it. It sort of scared him in a way. But Haley. She was coming back soon and he knew he would have to deal with everything going on with them and now with Lauren in the picture. Tree Hill just got a lot more interesting.

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**Well there it is! And as you can tell much drama is coming! I hope you guys liked it! Review Review! **

**Much love,**

**..Haylie..**


	8. The Things You Really Want

**Here we are guys! I was sitting here studying, and decided to fork over another chapter. shh! We just won't say anything. I couldn't resist though, all the reviews made me want to keep going. So anyway here is Chapter 8, I know its a little short but i promise they will get longer when I'm done with my crazy schedule. Once again thanks to my loverly reviewers: photoboothromance, 0xbeatofmyheart, Naley is L.O.V.E, Miki012. Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate it. I wasn't planning on updating until next week but because of you guys I did! So keep them coming! Enjoy...**

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Haley and Brooke…**

Brooke and Haley had been walking through the city for the entire day shopping at almost every store they passed. Brooke would drag Haley into a store, spend an hour there, by something and then leave and this pattern would continue through every store they passed.

"So Brooke, how are things back in Tree Hill?" Haley asked as they walked out of the last store they were shopping at.

"Surprisingly the same old Tree Hill. Nothing really drama-filled has happened there." Brooke said as she began to think about how nothing really has been happening there. Strange. Almost too quite for Tree Hill.

"Shocking. I thought for sure you were going to tell me that some motorcycle gang showed up and held the town hostage." Said Haley laughing.

"Yeah, well you can rest assure that nothing has been happening down there. Speaking of drama, how are you and Nathan?" Brooke asked starting to get a little more sympathetic towards the end.

"Well, I guess we're okay, I mean we've talked a couple of times. He knows I'm doing a show down there and we planned on meeting up for dinner or something." Haley said satisfied with her answer.

"That's good, All's well in Naleyland. You know, I'm proud of you." Brooke said turning towards Haley as they stopped to wait for the "Do Not Cross" light.

"Why are you proud of me?" Haley asked now facing Brooke too.

"You got your heart broken, and you're not letting it bother you. And if you are, you but on a brave face so no one could tell. You're dealing with it like a champion and for that I am proud of you." Brooke said smiling at Haley. Haley just stared across the street and kept quiet.

"So how is the whole Lucas thing?" Haley asked attempting to change the subject as they began to cross the street.

"There is no Lucas thing." Brooke said laughing nervously.

"Oh, come on. You're trying to tell me you don't still love him?" Haley said catching up with their signals.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Brooke replied playing dumb.

"Brooke.."

"Okay, Okay. Of course there is something still there, but I can't tell him. I'm too afraid of getting my heart broken again." She said, you could tell she was beginning to break down inside.

"You'll never know if you don't try. I know that he loves you, I'm sure of it, and he won't hurt you again, I'll make sure of it." Haley said winking and giving her a push.

"Thanks Tutorgirl, but I don't know, I guess I have some thinking to do huh?" Brooke asked her and they reached Haley's apartment building.

"That you do Brooke. Just remember, I'm always here if you need to talk." Haley said smiling, leaving Brooke to think about what they just talked about.

* * *

**Nathan…**

Nathan was sitting at home playing his NBA Live when his mother walked in the door. She had been at the Café all day and Nathan was too lazy to make his own food and by now he was starving, and broke. He got up from the couch and went to go greet his Mom.

"Hey Mom, how was work?" Nathan asked as he sat down at the table and watched his Mom get situated.

"It was busy and I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to go lay down for a little while. You can fix yourself some dinner right?" Deb asked as she started walking up the stairs. But not before she could throw some money on the table. She knew Nathan would want to buy something rather then make something to eat.

"I guess I'll just grab something from the Docks." He said as he sighed and walked out the front door.

* * *

**At The Docks…**

Nathan had walked to the Docks and bought a burger at one of the little restaurant stands and sat down and ate it. He finished it and started walking up the Docks getting lost in his own thoughts. He mainly was thinking about next week. Haley was coming home. Well, not home but close enough. She would be staying for about a week and he promised her that they would spend some time together. He wanted them to stay at least friends, he didn't want them to end up hating each other and be like those couples who can't even look at the other person before getting angry and walking away.

He stopped walking and made his way over to the railing. He leaned over the railing with his elbows on the top of it. He just stared out over the river thinking about Haley, and his life. How everything changed from that one little basketball game at the Rivercourt that changed his life forever.

"Well Well Well, we meet again. This must be a sign or something." He heard a voice behind him. He turned around and he was faced with Lauren once again.

"Hey Lauren. Um, What are you doing here?" He asked her as he turned to face her. She was now leaning over the railing too.

"It was just a beautiful night and I wanted to check out the perks of Tree Hill I guess. What about you? What are you doing standing here staring out at the water?" She asked. To Nathan she sounded truly interested in his answer.

"Just thinking about some stuff." He answered not really wanting to go into detail with her.

"Let me guess. Girlfriend stuff?" Lauren asked. At this point she was staring out at the River too.

"No. Well, ex-girlfriend. I don't have a girlfriend right now." As soon as those words came out of his mouth he wondered if he should have told her that.

"I see. Want to talk about it?" Lauren asked now facing him again.

"Uh, no Haley and I are kind of complicated and I don't really want to think about it anymore right now." He figured he be safer if he said that then getting into detail with this girl about his ex.

"Okay then. Well what are your plans for the rest of the night?" Lauren asked with a smile.

"Actually, nothing. Why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. Maybe you could show me around. I still don't know where all the good stuff in Tree Hill is yet." Lauren said as she smiled at Nathan.

"Well, I don't know where the good stuff is either because as far as I'm concerned this town sucks." He said with a smirk. Lauren laughed at what he said. _'She's so beautiful..Wait, what?'_ He wasn't really sure where that had come from. But what was the big deal, its not like he had a girlfriend anymore. Right?

"Well, in that case how about just walking around town to kill some time? We could "pretend" you're showing the good stuff." She even emphasized the word with air quotations.

"Sure why not." All Nathan was thinking about was how it wasn't that big of a deal. He was just showing an innocent girl around Tree Hill because she was new. It meant nothing. But why were these thoughts in his mind. He wasn't with Haley, it didn't matter who he went where with. But I guess in the back of his mind, he really was convinced he was still dating Haley. Maybe because he didn't really want to let her go. I guess for one night it was okay to forget about all that stuff.

* * *

**Haley…**

"Alright you guys, my room is down the hall, and you guys can fight over who gets the other bedroom or the couch. Or if you want to share you know, that's totally up to you." Haley said the last part only loud enough for Brooke to hear and she winked and laughed.

"I call dibs on the bedroom!" Brooke announced to the room.

"I'm sure you do." Haley laughed but tried to contain herself at the look she was receiving from Brooke.

"You know what Tutorgirl.." Brooke thought she had a come back but apparently lost her train of thought.

"Yes, Brooke?" Haley laughed. At this point it was just entertaining to watch Brooke try to defend herself.

"I hate you." She stomped off to her room and got herself ready for bed.

"She's so sweet." Lucas said as he smiled and watched her stomp off.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it, it probably sucked but I promise they will get better when I am all done with midterms and competitions. But please review review review! They encourage me! Thanks for reading.**

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	9. How Far Would You Go

**Hey guys! Sorry I took so long again.To be honest I was sort of at a stand-still with a little bit of writer's block but I dug myself out of my little hole and I started having all these ideas pop into my head and I just had to start writing. I ended up making a time line sort of thing, I filled up a page let me tell you, haha, and my only adice is to hold on tight because everything is just starting and I'm very excited! I should be updating more often because I'm on February Break! Since I now know where I want this to go I should be updating alot more this week! I just want to again thank my loverly reviewers: photoboothromance (thanks for letting me know I will definitely work on that!) Miki012, xSmile (you guessed it! haha) lilmonkeygirl31, and OTHchick (haha you guessed it too!) Thanks guys as always!So here's chapter 9 enjoy...

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****Brooke, Haley, and Lucas…**

Before they knew it, it was morning. They all woke up around the same time and all ate breakfast. They were sitting at the table when they heard the door open. Haley continued reading her magazine like it was nothing unusual and Brooke and Lucas shared a confused look. The visitor walked right into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and began to make breakfast like it was his own apartment.

"I think you got the wrong apartment there buddy." Lucas said still with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, he does this every morning, something about the thrill of not eating in his own apartment or whatever, I don't know he's weird." Haley said still not looking up from her magazine.

"Hey Brooke, I see you just couldn't get enough of me, you just had to come back right?" Chris said with a smirk on his face.

"Ha! I guess he's the funny one in the herd. Right, only in your dreams Keller." Brooke said giving him a dirty look.

"Every night baby." He said back to her as he winked and walked out of the room.

"I can't stand him, and I've only been around him for like 5 seconds. How do you do it?" She sighed as she turned to Haley.

"You just have to ignore him, eventually he'll go away." Haley laughed as she got up from the table. "Alright, I'm going to go take a shower, you guys can do..whatever." She said as she winked at Brooke.

"Oh, your just hilarious Tutorgirl." Brooke told her sarcastically.

"What is she talking about?" Lucas asked completely lost.

"Nothing Luke, it's over your head." She said as she patted his shoulder and walked past him. Lucas just stood there laughing and not believing that Brooke of all people just said that something was too hard for _him_ to understand.

* * *

**Nathan…**

Nathan and Lauren had spent most of the night walking around and talking about their life stories. Nathan was surprised that he could actually open up to her this much and tell this girl everything about him, and she could do the same. After coming home last night, Nathan got some much needed sleep.

Before he knew it morning rolled around. He rolled over and looked at the clock. 11:00. Another day ahead of him. Haley should be coming down in 3 days so at least he could look forward to his lunch date with her. Could he call it a date? He pushed those thoughts out of his head for the moment and decided to go down to the Rivercourt and play some ball. When he got there he found that he wasn't the only one there.

"Tim?" Nathan asked.

"Nate, hey man, I haven't seen you since High Flyer's, how was it, intense?" Tim asked as they did their man hug thing. Tim was excited to see his best friend after so long.

"Actually I busted my knee when I was trying out and I had to leave."

"I'm sorry man, I know how much that meant to you." Tim said sympathetically.

"It's okay, somewhere along the line I realized that it wasn't everything you know?" He replied. When he first went down to High Flyers he had good intentions. But after he got hurt he realized that it wasn't as important to him as he thought. It wasn't as important as _her_.

"Yeah, so where have you been hiding lately in a hole?" Tim asked.

"No, I met this girl, Lauren, and we've been hanging out. We were at the dock's last night just talking." Nathan laughed slightly at Tim's wording and he began to shoot some baskets.

"What happened to Haley?" Tim asked totally clueless.

"We, uh, broke up. But she's coming down in a couple of days and we're going to go out to dinner or something."

"When did you guys break up?" Tim asked still lost on this whole conversation.

"About 3 months before I left for High Flyers. Our dreams were just too big you know." Nathan said sounding upset. Tim noticed this but decided to leave it alone for the time being.

"So, now that the knee is better you still got your charm, you still think you can beat Tim?" Tim asked him.

"Stop referring to yourself in the 3rd person or I just might have to kick your ass." Nathan laughed as he and Tim began to play a game of one on one. It was good to have his best friend back with him.

* * *

**Dan…**

Dan sat down in his living room waiting for his "guest" to show up. He wasn't a patient man, and she was just taking too long. Finally she walked through the door and came to accompany him in the living room. She sat on the black leather couch while he sat in his recliner chair with his cup of Whiskey.

"So I suppose you're here for your payment, am I right?" Dan asked her as he took a sip of his liquor.

"Yes, I've been doing what you wanted me to and you promised me a payment." She replied.

"Well your payment is going to have to wait." Dan replied smugly.

"What are you talking about? I'm doing what you want, I'm not sure I understand where your coming from." She replied getting even angrier as she continued talking.

"I made the plan clear to you in the very beginning and you are not moving fast enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked finally getting fed up with him.

"It means, your doing a crappy job. You either get your act together or this little arrangement is over." Dan said as he poured himself more liquor.

"He's a nice kid, and he really loves her, I think your making a big mistake."

"I'm making no mistake here, she will only get in the way like she did before and that is where you come in." Dan said as he got comfortable in his chair again, looking at her trying to make her feel inferior.

"You're sick you know that." She spat at him.

"And you need money. I expect this to move much faster otherwise you can kiss your brother's money goodbye." He spat right back.

"Fine, but someone is going to get hurt, and that's not going to be my problem."

"Don't you worry your pretty little face, just do your job and you'll get your money."

"Whatever I'm done here." She said as she got up and started towards the door.

"Don't forget our plan Lauren, you mess up and that's it." Dan said. He smirked when he heard the door slam shut. He knew it was wrong, but he was Dan Scott, he lived and breathed everyday for evil and everyone knew it. But this girl was not going to get in the way of his son's future. At least if he had anything to do with it.

* * *

**Haley…**

Haley was just hanging around the house when she realized she was going back to Tree Hill in 2 days. She needed to start packing or she would never make it. All these past days spent with Brooke shopping of course didn't help, now she had twice the amount of clothes and she still needed to decide what to take. Should she take it all in hopes of staying in Tree Hill permanently? Should she take a few things because she for sure would be back? Haley didn't know. It just depended on how things with everyone back home went, especially Nathan.

Haley started packing her suitcase, maybe even two suitcases. She really hoped things would go well between her and Nathan this time. Lately he was all she could think about. He was all she wanted to think about, she just hoped he felt the same way. Life was always like this though, giving you difficult situations that you have to dig yourself out of, figuring out what you really have to do in order to make things right again. But the most important life lesson that Haley remembered from her childhood: it doesn't matter how much you want something, what really matters is what you're willing to go through for what you want. Haley wanted to do it. She wanted to go all the way. She wanted Nathan back.

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think! Look for another chapter really soon! **

**Much love..**

**...Haylie...**


	10. Don't Give Away The End

**Hey guys i'm back with another chapter. I was really sad that only 2 people reviewed last chapter, I dont know if nobody is reading, or if no one is just reviewing but I need to know what you guys think. I hope to continue this story far even with a possible sequel but I can't do it if I think nobody is reading. It made me sad :( ...but thanks to my 2 loverly reviewers this time : xSmile and Miki012 thanks guys I really appreciate it! **

**Also, the song I used in this chapter, "23" belongs to Jimmy Eat World from the Friends With Benefit soundtrack so please don't sue! And if you haven't yet bought the soundtrack I strongly suggest its amazing! Hope you enjoy this chapter...

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

Haley had left the apartment earlier in the afternoon in hopes to make some last minute stops before her big trip back to Tree Hill. This left Lucas and Brooke alone in the apartment. Lucas was currently spread out on the living room couch and Brooke was in her bedroom. Lucas laid there in silence, until Brooke came bouncing into the room and broke that silence.

"Lucas guess what! Are you guessing? I have an amazingly brilliant idea!" Brooke said excitedly jumping up and down. Lucas obviously knew he wasn't going to get rest so he decided to join her in her upbeat conversation.

"What's your idea Brooke?" He asked as he sat up from his previous position on the couch, full attention on Brooke now.

"Well, since Tutorgirl is coming back to Tree Hill for a while, since it's our senior year, and since I'm just brilliant, I think we should have a 'Welcome back Haley slash we're seniors now' party! What do you think?" Brooke said staring at Lucas intently waiting for any emotion to come to his face.

"I think that's a good idea Brooke, but where are you planning on having this thing?" Lucas asked her.

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet Lucas, jeez I just thought if the idea, give it time!" Brooke said as she threw her hands up in the air dramatically and walked into the kitchen. Lucas just laughed and followed her.

"So, are you all packed and ready to leave when Haley gives us the boot?" Lucas asked as he poured himself a glass of water.

"Why is she kicking us out? What did you do to her Luke?" Brooke started getting worked up, ready to kill him for whatever he "did" that is making Haley kick them out.

"She's not kicking us out Brooke, her tour bus is leaving I'm not sure what time, but whenever she tells us she's leaving we are leaving too." Lucas said laughing at Brooke's outburst.

"Oh. Well, yeah I'm ready, I just need to pack my things." Brooke said embarrassed that she overreacted.

"If you still have to pack then you're not ready Brooke." She really could be entertainment for him sometimes.

"Lucas, seriously, how long can it possibly take to pack a couple of suitcases?"

"Well, for a normal person, not that long, but for you, there's endless possibilities." Lucas said laughing.

"Shut up Luke, you know you love me." Brooke said playfully hitting him on the shoulder, faking hurt.

"Yeah." Lucas said still laughing at her. But he suddenly stopped when he realized exactly what he just said.

Brooke just stopped at stared at him shocked. They stood there staring at each other, not saying a word, each trying to grasp what was just exchanged between the two teenagers. Brooke being the brave one decided to break the silence.

"I, I should, um, I should go start packing." She said stuttering, still not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, yeah good idea, you should, uh, you should do that." Lucas said being broken out of his state of shock as well, breaking eye contact, fearing what would happen if he didn't.

"Yeah." Brooke said softly as she ran out of the room so fast and went into her bedroom. Now she had the ride home to look forward to, and that would be one awkward drive.

Lucas walked back into the living room, mentally kicking himself for his little outburst back there. He fell back onto the coach, groaning as he put a pillow over his face, thinking about this awkward drive he would face in a matter of hours.

* * *

**Haley…**

Haley had to finish getting packed and a buy few last minute things like toothpaste. She quickly shopped for her necessities and hit the road once again. Brooke and Lucas were leaving today and so was she. She was going back to Tree Hill, to the place where everything she hoped to avoid would come back to haunt her. But on the plus side she was going to have dinner with Nathan. She hoped they were still on for dinner, she decided to call him and double check.

Dialing his number she put the phone to her ear and listen to the phone ring, and ring, and ring. Voicemail. She decided not to hang up and that she would leave a message.

"Hey Nate, it's Haley. I, uh, just wanted to make sure we were still on for that dinner. If not it's totally okay I understand, I was just wondering…um, ca-call me when you get this." She hung up the phone. She never felt so nervous. Sure, they had talked since they broke up, and she knew they were getting together for dinner, but it didn't really hit her until now. She really was going to see him again, and she was nervous about that. Haley wondered if it would have been easier for her if he actually answered his phone. Why didn't he answer his phone?

_'He's probably with his new girlfriend that's why.'_

She entered her apartment. She sent a confused look over to Lucas' position on her couch, still with the pillow over his face, deciding she didn't want to even ask, she shook her head and made it to her room to finish up her packing. Getting even more nervous as she added more clothing to the suitcase, she decided she couldn't take the silence anymore. Turning on her stereo, she listened to the first song that started playing. It was one of her favorite songs. She had been a fan of this song ever since the first time she ever heard it.

_I felt for sure last night _

_That once we said goodbye_

_No one else will know these lonely dreams_

_No one else will know that part of me_

_I'm still driving away_

_And I'm sorry every day_

_I won't always love these selfish things_

_I won't always live.._

_Not stopping.._

She raised the volume up and thought about the types of things she would encounter going back to Tree Hill. Pushing those second thoughts out of her mind she sat on her bed and stared at a picture on her nightstand that she still kept to this day. A picture of her and Nathan, when they were happy. When they were together.

_It was my turn to decide _

_I knew this was our time_

_No one else will have me like you do_

_No one else will have me, only you_

_You'll sit alone forever_

_If you wait for the right time_

_What are you hoping for?_

_I'm here I'm now I'm ready_

_Holding on tight_

_Don't give away the end_

_The one thing that stays mine_

She took the picture off her nightstand and ran her fingers across the picture. She remembered that night like it was yesterday. It was right after a basketball game, Nathan had made the winning shot, and Haley had been on the sidelines cheering for him the whole time. After the game she ran up to him and jumped into his arms, never feeling more safe. Keith and Karen walked up and told them to pose for a picture. She remembered when Karen gave her the newly developed picture. Haley framed it and wrapped it up to give to Nathan. She remembered it always being in his room, on his dresser right next to one of his basketball trophies. She also remembered how right before she stepped her foot on the tour bus, before making the biggest mistake of her life, she took it from his dresser, in hopes of always having him with her. Obviously he didn't miss it much, he never mentioned it missing.

_Amazing still it seems _

_I'll be 23_

_I won't always love what I'll never have_

_I won't always live in my regrets_

_You'll sit alone forever_

_If you wait for the right time_

_What are you hoping for?_

_I'm here I'm now I'm ready_

_Holding on tight_

_Don't give away the end_

_The only thing that stays mine…_

Haley always had a deep connection with music. She was never one to sit there and relate every song to an aspect of her life. But this song, her favorite song, suddenly had a new meaning.

* * *

**Nathan…**

Nathan had gotten a phone call earlier in the day. It was Lauren asking Nathan to meet her at the Rivercourt. He was curious as to why she wanted to meet him so urgently so he went to meet right away. When he got there he saw her sitting on the bleachers alone, looking lost and upset staring out onto the river.

"Hey, uh, you wanted to see me." Lauren didn't notice him walking over to her so she jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Hey, I hope I didn't mess up any plans you had or anything." Originally she was calling Nathan down here to tell him the truth that Dan had set her up to drive Haley away. At this point she still didn't know what she was going to do.

"No I didn't have any plans, are you okay? You look kind of upset." Nathan asked her concerned.

Lauren looked up at Nathan. She looked in his ice blue eyes, she saw sincerity there. She knew what her and Dan were doing was horrible. How could she stoop so low? She hated the fact that she was going to hurt Nathan. She was broken out of her thoughts by Nathan's cell phone ringing.

"Are you going to get that?" She asked him.

"It's Haley. I'll just call her back later. Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her after putting his phone in silent mode.

All previous thoughts about telling Nathan the truth left her mind. She knew that if she didn't do what Dan wanted her to, there's no telling what he could do. She decided against telling him. At least for the time being.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just thinking about some stuff. But it's nothing important."

"You want to talk about it?" He asked her.

"No, look um, I'm sorry for making you come all the way down here, but if you really didn't have any plans, do you maybe want to catch a movie or something?"

"Yeah. Let's go, I have nothing better to do." Lauren laughed at this and she linked arms with him, deciding she would put Dan's horrible plan into full force action, as they walked off to the movies.

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I kind of liked it alot myself so I hope you guys did as well. Since the reviewing was poor last time (except for those two! thanks guys! haha) I'll update again when theres at least 5 reviews just so I know theres people actually reading this, the next chapter is already written and ready to go so I shall upload it when there are 5 reviews:) **

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	11. Going Home

**Hey guys! I'm back! Snow day today so I decided I would update, snow in March, yes very crazy. Sorry I took so long, but I had my State Championship meetfor gymnastics on saturday and I'm also taking these state tests in school and they are every other day for about 4 hours which is horrible, I know but when I get home I'm exhausted, but I will definitely try to update more often. I just want to thank my lovely reviewers once again: Photoboothromance, xSmile, Miki012, and lilmonkeygirl131. I really appreciate it! Here's chapter 11 enjoy...

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**Nathan…**

Lauren and Nathan were currently leaving the movie theatre after watching the movie they finally decided on. Lauren linked arms with Nathan again as they walked through the doors and out of the theatre. Nathan turned his phone back on and noticed that there was an envelope at the top signalling there was a message left for him.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to listen to my messages." Nathan said as he walked to a quieter area of the sidewalk. Dialing the number to his voicemail he listened to the message left by Haley.

_'Hey Nate, it's Haley. I, uh, just wanted to make sure we were still on for that dinner. If not it's totally okay I understand, I was just wondering…um, ca-call me when you get this.'_

He smiled as he hung up the phone. It was obvious she was nervous when she left the message and he thought it was so cute. He could still do that to her after all this time, being apart and all. Still smiling he made his way back over to Lauren. She noticed the smile on his face and decided to ask him about it.

"So, who was it?" She asked.

"It was Haley, she wanted to know if we were still on for our dinner. Remind me to call her back later." Nathan said as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"So you are going out to dinner, as in a date?" Lauren asked.

"No, just a friendly dinner." Nathan said, half sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

"Are you sure? Sounds to me like it is a date, that or you want it to be a date." Lauren said as she winked towards Nathan.

"No, it's just a friendly dinner, I swear. It'll just be really great to see her again, I haven't seen her in so long." Nathan said thinking about how long it actually was since he had seen her last. Oh right, it was when he broke up with her. Yeah, now he remembered.

"Okay, whatever you say superstar." Lauren laughed. She once again linked arms with Nathan as they walked off into the night.

* * *

**Haley…**

Haley raced around getting the last few things packed into her suitcase. Her phone started ringing. She made her way into the kitchen to answer it, Lucas was in there staring at his cup of water. She laughed at him and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"The bus is leaving at 8:00 Haley, you have an hour, please don't be late." Chris said to her.

"I won't be late, actually when am I ever late? Whatever I'll be there." She said finally just annoyed with him.

"Tell Brooke I'll see her when we get to Tree Hill, and I'll miss her on the ride home." Chris said. Haley could just hear his smirk on the other side of the phone.

"Chris? Shut up, she doesn't like you, get over it." Haley said as she hung up on him. Her attention was drawn back to Lucas. He was still intently staring at his cup of water.

"So, anything interesting in there?" Haley asked him trying to hold back a laugh.

"I'm an idiot." Lucas said to her not taking his eyes off his glass.

"Well, I've known that every since we were kids, my concern is why you are staring at your water." Haley said smiling. Lucas now stopped looking at this water and looked at her.

"You're a riot."

"Lucas really, what's wrong?" She asked beginning to get concerned.

"I did something stupid, that probably just costed me an awkward drive home." He said as he looked up at her, pouting like a little boy.

"What did you do? Tell Brooke her shoes didn't match or something?" Haley asked laughing it off.

"I kind of indirectly told her I love her." Lucas said as he banged his head down on the counter a few times. Haley now stopped doing what she was doing to look at him.

"How do you 'indirectly' tell someone you love them?" Haley asked him, clearly not understanding what he was trying to tell him.

"Long story, but it was really awkward, and now I have to drive home with her."

"Look, I know you love her, you know you love her, hell everyone knows you love her, except maybe Brooke but that's besides the point..okay, maybe this is just what you guys needed to get back on track. Someone needed to be first to say what they really felt and you made the first move. Yes, you may not have meant to say it so soon, but maybe someone needed to get it out in the open." Haley said as she sat beside Lucas.

"Unless she doesn't feel the same." Lucas said as he turned to Haley. She could tell he was really torn in this situation.

"Trust me, you don't need to worry about that." Haley said as she winked at Lucas. She smiled as she left Lucas in the kitchen to think about everything she just said.

* * *

**Brooke…**

Brooke sat in her room staring out the window. She had been in the exact same spot since she hid out in her room after hearing Lucas' shocking confession. It didn't really shock her as much as she expected it to. She knew. She knew because she felt the same way. But Brooke couldn't and wouldn't admit that to anybody, let alone admit it to herself. She knew she was going to have an awkward drive home with Lucas. Unless…

"Haley!" She ran out of her bedroom and into Haley's.

"Jeez Brooke, who died?" Haley asked laughing.

"I will if you don't help me out!" Brooke said completely freaking out at this point.

"What can I do for you?" She asked walking into her bathroom.

"You can make room on your tour bus for me." Brooke said as she followed Haley.

"And why would I do that?" Haley asked her as she packed her final toiletries into her bag.

"Because you love me, why else?" She said.

"Don't you mean because Lucas loves you?" Haley asked her smirking. Brooke was silent. She wasn't about to deny it, there was no use, Haley already knew.

"Look Brooke, just go home with Lucas, you guys should talk or, you know, anything that happens, let it happen." Haley said with a smirk still on her face. She earned a playful shove from Brooke.

"Fine. I will, but I'm not going to like it! I'll be in the car waiting oh so patiently!" Brooke said dramatically. She left Haley's room and went to pick up her suitcase. She brought it out to Lucas' car and waited out there for him to come out. She was ready to face this ride home, she would tell him the truth, she really would. Wouldn't she?

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**Nathan…**

After Nathan had dropped Lauren off at her house he remembered he needed to make a call. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the all too familiar number. He listened to the phone ring and ring, and ring again. Voicemail. He hated voicemail. He still went ahead a left a message.

"Hey Haley, it's Nate, I got your message and yes we're still on for dinner. Call me when you can, I think your coming down here soon right? Um, just call when you get a chance, bye."

He felt as though they were playing phone tag. The only weird thing was he knew she always answered her phone when he called, or when anyone called for that matter.

_'Maybe she's getting ready to come down here, I'm sure there is nothing to worry about. I'll call her later just to make sure.'_ He thought.

He put his phone away and walked into his house. Deciding he had enough excitement for one day, he walked up the stairs and into his room. So what if it was early? Nathan was wiped out, as soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light. After all he needed the rest, Haley was his dinner date tomorrow and he wanted to be all rested for that. No not a dinner date, just a dinner. Yeah, that's it.

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**Haley…**

Haley had to go or for once in her life she would be late. She walked into the living room and saw Lucas. She walked over to say goodbye to him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.

"Bye, Luke." She said still holding onto him.

"I'll see you in a few hours Hales." He laughed as he pulled away from her.

"I know, but I'll still miss you." She knew she sounded pathetic but she didn't care.

"Well, have a safe trip and go now before you're late." She thanked him and she walked towards the door, before she got too far she turned around.

"Luke? Go easy on Brooke. Don't push her to talk, shes in a strange position now and shes having trouble opening up again, but she'll come around on her own I promise." With that piece of advice she walked out the door. The bus was waiting just as she knew it would be. She handed over her suitcases to the driver, who put them under the bus for her. Stepping onto the bus, she turned around briefly to remember her home right here in New York. Once she sat on her seat she knew there was no turning back. She had to go and face Tree Hill again. Deciding this trip might not be that bad, she continued onto the bus. The driver shut the door and they began to depart from New York City.

_'Yeah, this isn't going to be that bad.'_ She thought.

Putting on her earphones, she sat back and relaxed, listening to music. Little did she knew this trip would bring back old feelings, heartbreak, and not to mention jeopardizing someone's life. Possibly even her own.

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed! I know many want more Naley and I promise it will come very soon, I just need to get her there first lol. But keep looking out because drama is coming soon and I'm very excited. Please review review review! I used to have a lot in the beginning and now I only have about 4 per chapter ( I LOVE YOU GUYS!) haha. Ok I'm rambling again, just please review, it would make me one happy chick:) **

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	12. Middle of Nowhere

**Hey guys! I'm soooo sorry I took so long. I had CAPT testing for 2 weeks which is just a standardized test that everyone in my grade has to take and pass to graduate so oh what fun that was testing for 4 hours a day! I also had a little bit of trouble writing this chapter. I know where I wanted this story to go once they all got back to Tree Hill, I just couldn't figure out how to get them there. :) (blushes) Anyways, I'm not too too happy with this chapter and I know its mighty short, I just wanted to get them all back there so the real fun can begin! On another note, I was unbelievably surprised with all the reviews I got last chapter! Thank you guys soo soo much it means so much to me.. ****So thanks to: **

**photoboothromance (i hope the brucas was okay / )...****Miki012...****dzimmermann87...****xSmile (to answer your question- she didnt answer because she was running out and never heard it sorry for not making that clear)...****SIOBHAN...****Trudelutt...****Lavy4Naley4ever...****CB BABE...****lilmonkeygirl31...****T****hank you all soooo much...keep it up:) **

**Disclaimer: I dont own anything, but I do wishIowned James Lafferty haha...anyway the song I used in this Chapter is Middle of Nowhere by Hot Hot Heat, on the Friends with Benefit Soundtrack so dont sue :)**

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

Brooke had been standing out by the car ever since Haley had left on the bus. She didn't want to go back inside, she wanted to wait out there for Lucas to come out. Finally after some time, Lucas came out of Haley's apartment with his luggage, ready to pack up the car. She looked up at him, he was walking towards her, looking at the ground. Obviously this would be an awkward drive home. Lucas had put their suitcases in the trunk, and unlocked the door. Brooke got in the front seat, they began the long trip home. After several minutes of silence she decided she would be the brave one and start some sort of conversation first.

"Is this weird?" She asked, not really knowing how to begin a conversation with him now.

"A little bit." He briefly took his eyes off the road and glanced at her.

"Look, it was just some random thing that was said and we both just took it the wrong way, it's okay I know you didn't mean it." She said, laughing lightly, taking a leap of faith in saying that. This made Lucas think about what Haley had said to him. Maybe it did need to get out in the open.

"But that's the thing Brooke, I did mean it."

Silence. Brooke turned to him completely in shock. She had a feeling he felt the way she did, but she didn't expect him to come right out and say it. Especially because they still had several hours cooped in a small car with no way of escape.

"Lucas, what are you talking about?" She asked carefully.

"I meant what I said Brooke, I love you. I didn't know how to tell you and I didn't know how you felt. Everything is still messed up with us and when we finally got to the point of actually being friends I didn't want to freak you out by saying it, but apparently that was shot down." There it was.

"Lucas, you didn't freak me out. Okay, maybe you kind of did but not because of what you said. I guess it freaked me out because I wasn't expecting it. Do you – do you really mean it Luke?" She asked timidly.

"I never meant anything less." Brooke turned to him and watched him as he drove them both back to their home. She waited for the day when she could hear those words come out of his mouth and it had finally come. Then why couldn't she think of anything to say back?

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**Haley…**

Haley had been listening to music ever since the bus departed from New York City. They were getting close to their destination.

_Don't get mad if I'm laughing_

_Blame the caffeine for all the 5 am phone calls_

_I haven't slept a single night in over a month_

_And not even once did you start to make sense to me_

Haley knew that once she stepped off her safety zone, in this case the tour bus, things would change. She would face her friends, the friends that she left suddenly without even saying goodbye. She already talked to Lucas and Brooke, but she left behind Peyton and Jake. She knew they would be upset with her for leaving abruptly like she did, and that was just one scenario she knew she had to face.

_Well maybe I'm a little bit slow, or just consistently inconsistent_

_She said, "Unpredictability's my responsibility, baby."_

_But you're waiting at the door _

_Where everybody's hanging out just like they hung out before_

_You didn't have to do it but you did it to say_

_That you didn't have to do it but you would anyway_

Karen, her second mother, as she would call it. Karen had given her a job as soon as she was old enough, a shoulder to cry on, a person to seek advice from, and a hide out place when there was no one else she could talk to. She didn't even say goodbye to her. That would be one of her first stops when she got to Tree Hill.

_To give you something to go on_

_When I go off back to the middle of nowhere_

_To give you something to go on_

_When I go off back to the middle of nowhere_

Nathan. The love of her life for so long. She knew part of their breakup was her fault. If she hadn't left in the first place, he may have not had so many doubts about their relationship. Fate is fate anyway you look at it. Everything happens for a reason, or so they say. Maybe things do happen for a reason, even if it seems bad, good can come from it. It's a little charm called Karma. Yes, Haley knew all about that little word. It hadn't been in her favor for a while. Doesn't that mean she was due for something good to happen to her?

_They chewed me up and then they spit me out_

_And I'm not supposed to let it bother me_

_But maybe I'm a little bit weak –_

_I let my frailty take the wheel_

_She said, "Maybe there's a bit of me waiting for a bit of you, baby."_

The bus came to a stop. Haley sat up in her seat and looked out the window. The scenery looked all too familiar. She looked around the bus, and everyone was getting up and getting their stuff together. They couldn't be here already could they? Chris came bounding into the seat next to Haley.

"What's going on?" She asked still a bit confused.

"We ran over a cute little bunny and now they want to evacuate the bus." Chris said with a smirk on his face.

"You're not funny." She said, not even cracking a smile.

"Well, we're here so get your lazy ass up out of that seat and lets go. I thought you would have been more excited then this!" He said as he bounced out of the seat next to her and made his way towards the front of the bus.

"Yeah, I thought I would be too." She said as she stood up to grab her bags above her seat. She was excited, she truly was. But actually being here in Tree Hill made it seem more real, well obviously. She was beginning to get nervous. As she made her way to the front, she took one last deep breath. She stepped off the bus and her feet touched the sand on the ground of the Tree Hill Bus Station. Here she was, she was finally going to face everyone she left months ago. But little did she know, this "exciting" trip was going to change her life forever.

_To give you something to go on –_

_Back to the middle of nowhere.

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**Woot! I hope it wasn't too horrible. I promise it will be much better next chapter: the Naley date...more brucas talking...meeting some more of the Tree Hill gang...I'm getting excited just thinking about it! haha ok please review like y'all did last time, it made me soo happy! thanks again**

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	13. The Joy of Reuniting

**Hey guys! I'm back with another update. This chapter kind of took me a while too, I know, but I think you'll like it. The Naley dinner isn't in this chapter, but I promise you it will be in the next one. And for those of you who wanted a Brucas reunion, well you'll just have to read on and see! I just want to quickly thank all the reviewers this time, there wasn't as many as the last chapter, but hey some is better than none right? Right. But just keep in mind, the more reviews the more I get encouraged to write, the faster I update. So thanks to my reviewers this time: xSmile, Miki012, lilmonkeygirl31 and itsDMFkids. Thanks guys I appreciate it! So I hope you enjoy, heres chapter 13...**

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

After the long, awkward and revealing drive Lucas and Brooke finally made it back home to Tree Hill. Ever since the talk in the car neither one had said anything to the other. It was even more awkward then when they began. The car stopped at Brooke's apartment. Lucas put the car in park, anticipating some sort of conversation to occur. Brooke made a quick move for the door. She began to open it, Lucas tried to stop her.

"Wait Brooke." He said making her stop and turn to him. She continued to stare at him, saying nothing, expecting him to continue speaking.

"Look, I meant what I said. I love you Brooke, but I've been lying to myself about it for a while now. I'm not going to do that anymore, I love you, I really mean it." She kept eye contact with him. Tears filled the back of her eyes. She had been waiting so long to hear him say this to her.

"Good." She replied back to him. She leaned forward to a point where their faces were mere inches apart. She longed to feel his lips on hers once again. She closed the gap between the two of them. Their mouths moved in sync with each other. It wasn't rough or unwanted. It was longing, soft, passionate and slow. Just like a perfect 'kiss' should be. Brooke was the first to pull away, blushing.

"I'll uh..I'll see you later." Brooke said as she made her way to the door.

"I'll call you." Lucas said. Brooke turned around and smiled a genuine smile at him. She kissed him quickly one more time and left. She walked up her walkway towards the apartment door. She turned around once more when she got to her doorstep. She waved shyly at him as he drove off.

She opened her door, and threw her suitcase on the floor, and slammed the door shut. She could no longer contain her excitement. She jumped up and down squealing and clapping and just about everything you do when you want all your excitement to come out. Everything was perfect. Her and Lucas were back together, and nothing could come in between them.

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**Haley…**

It had been equally understood that Haley would be staying with Brooke when they all returned. She walked up to Brooke's apartment, formally known as Nathan's apartment when he got emancipated. They had a lot of memories there. She began to get flashbacks of some of the memories they had. It was all too much for her. She was startled by the sound of her phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID. Speaking of..

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey Hales, where are you?" He asked.

"I'm actually here in Tree Hill, I'm at yo- Brooke's apartment." She saved herself. Thankfully he didn't catch it.

"When did you get in?" Nathan asked.

"Just about an hour ago. Are we still on for dinner tonight?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, um, where are you staying, at a hotel?" He asked.

"God no, I'm staying with Brooke." She laughed. Just the thought of staying in a cheap hotel made her sketch.

"Okay, so I guess I'll pick you up around 6?" Nathan asked her. At this question Haley got little butterflies in her stomach.

"Yeah that would be great." She smiled even though he couldn't see her through the phone. They said their goodbyes. She moved her way over to the couch. She sat down on it and immediately more memories came flooding back to her. Once again her thoughts were interrupted but this time not by a phone. Her thoughts were interrupted by a bounding Brooke bouncing out of her bedroom.

"Haley!"

"Hi Brooke." She said, getting up from the couch to meet her in the hallway.

"Was that Nathan on the phone?" She asked with a little too much perkiness, which caused Haley to look at her sideways.

"Yes it was Nathan. Why are you so peppy?" Haley asked giving her a confused look. Brooke just smiled; it wasn't until that moment that Haley caught on.

"Oh my god! You and Lucas totally got back together didn't you?" Haley squealed at Brooke.

"Yeah we did!" Brooke jumped into a hug Haley offered her.

"Oh my god! Please tell me he isn't going to walk out of the bedroom in about 10 seconds."

"NO! No, no, no, no, no. Haley please, who do you think I am?" After looking at the facial expression she was receiving from Haley she knew she didn't want that question to be answered. "Never mind, don't answer that."

"I'm really happy for you Brooke, I told you it would happen sooner or later." Haley said playfully hitting her on the shoulder.

"Thanks Haley." Brooke said sincerely.

"Does this mean peppy Brooke is going to be around more often?" Haley asked her.

"Yeah, I think it does." Brooke answered back smiling.

"Good because I was beginning to get tired of bitchy Brooke." She joked.

"Hey!" Brooke said as she ran after Haley through the apartment.

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**Nathan…**

To kill some time, Nathan had grabbed his Ipod and walked down to the Rivercourt knowing he would be alone. He needed to kill off some of the nerves he had for his upcoming _"date"_ he had with Haley tonight. He started shooting some hoops, when suddenly he wasn't alone anymore.

"Hey man." It was Tim.

"Hey Tim. Haven't seen you in a while, where have you been?" Nathan asked.

"I haven't gotten out much, my mom's been sick so I had to stay and help her when she needed me." He said.

"Aww, mommy's little boy." Nathan teased him.

"Shut up man." He faked a pout and pretended to be mad as Nathan laughed.

"First one to 10?" Nathan said, asking him to play.

"Sure man, get ready to lose." Tim said, trying to sound all powerful and mighty.

"Whatever Timmy, we'll see about that."

They played for about a half hour before they were tied. They were going for game point. Nathan had the ball and he was making his way around Tim. This was almost the exact same play he performed at High Flyers when he busted his knee. He went for it anyway and this time felt no pain. Nathan won 10-9.

"Told you I'd beat you Tim, you doubt me too much." Nathan joked with him, and he jogged over to the bleachers to get a drink.

"Nah man, I let you win." Tim said making his way over to get a drink too.

"Oh I'm sure you did." Nathan said shaking his head at him.

"Easy there boys, we don't want anyone getting hurt now do we?" They heard a distinct female voice. Nathan knew who it was immediately, Tim just thought he did too.

"Well hello there gorgeous, what are you doing out here all alone?" Tim asked.

"Down boy. I'm here to see him." She said as she pointed to Nathan.

"Jeez Nate, you already got the ladies flocking to you." Tim said looking unbelievingly at Nathan.

"Tim, shut up. Tim this is Lauren, Lauren this is..Tim." Nathan said chuckling.

"Oh Lauren, so you're the new girl?" Tim suddenly understood what was going on.

"That's me." She said back.

"So what are you doing out here?" Nathan asked her.

"Actually I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out with me tonight, there's a new movie out and I thought maybe you'd want to go? What do ya say superstar?" She asked him as she walked closer to him. A little too close for comfort he thought. Tim just looked on in amusement.

"I would, but I have plans tonight." He answered her.

"With this thing? You can bring him too I guess." She joked, receiving a laugh from Nathan and a glare from Tim.

"Hey! People value their Tim Time, let me tell you." Tim said back.

"I'm sure they do." Lauren said back giving him a confused look.

"I'm not going anywhere with Tim. Haley's back in town and we're going out for dinner." At this Lauren made eye contact with him.

"Reuniting are we?" She asked him as she cocked her eyebrow.

"No, just a friend-friend dinner."

_'Why does everyone keep assuming we're getting back together?'_ He thought.

"Convincing me that or are you trying to convince yourself that?" Lauren asked him smirking.

"Trust me." He said back, hinting to drop the conversation there.

"Okay, well whatever happens, happens right?" She said seductively. She walked closer to Nathan and kissed him on the cheek. She began to walk away, but not before turning around.

"I'll call you later superstar." She walked out of site, leaving Nathan a little light headed and confused.

"Are you into her man?" Tim asked Nathan after having just watched the exchange between the two.

"No, no we're just friends." He replied back.

"I think shes into you. Listen I'm not going to get in the middle of this, but knowing your history, just be careful man, and just don't screw anything up."

After saying this, Tim walked away leaving Nathan to think about the exchange he just had with Lauren. What did Tim mean by _'don't screw anything up'_? Looking at his watch he saw that it was 5:00. He had an hour before he had to be at Haley's. He walked home fairly quickly, showered, and finished getting ready. It was 5:51 and he was out the door ready to go get Haley. He hopped in the car and began to drive off. This would be one interesting night.

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**Well, there is! Let me know what you think. Review please! Remember the more you review, the faster I'll update. **

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	14. Sacrificing For Those We Love

**Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to update, I had alot going on with school stuff so..But I'm back! Its finally spring break! woohoo! But on another note, I'm going to Florida for vacation yay, so I won't be back to a computer until the 26th which means I won't be able to update while I'm down there. I will continue to write though so I can have an update as soon as I get back. I just wanted to get this chapter out there and leave you off with it. I hope you enjoy it... And thanks again to my reviewers - Photobooth Romance, lilmonkeygirl31, jamie, and xSmile. Thanks guys! So here's chapter 14...**

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Brooke and Haley…**

5:51. Brooke and Haley had been hanging out for the day with nothing to do to pass the time before Nathan would be there to pick up Haley for their date. She had been sitting on the couch flipping channels listening to Haley's pitter-pattering footsteps rushing to get ready. Brooke heard a loud bang, a groan, and more footsteps and she just laughed. That was Haley for you, born klutz. She decided she would go see what was going on. Walking into their bedroom she saw Haley with her hair still wet in a towel, wearing a jean skirt, a pink silk spaghetti strap shirt, and purple fuzzy slippers.

"Interesting choice of wardrobe Hales, I always knew you had a bad taste in clothing, but this just takes that to a whole new level." Brooke teased her laughing at the facial expression she received from Haley.

"Brooke, I have 10 minutes before Nathan gets here, my hair is still wet, I can't find my new flip flops and you are not helping!" Haley said sounding frustrated, as she ran around the room like a maniac. Brooke just laughed as she heard a knocking at the door.

"Oh my God, that can't be Nathan! Where are my shoes!" Haley replied getting even more frantic.

"Haley, calm down, your going to hurt yourself, if it's Nathan, I'll stall him, but just incase hurry up." She didn't like the look she just received from Haley, "No time to joke? Okay." She winced and walked toward the door and opened it and was rather surprised as to who was on the other side.

"Lucas? Hey! I wasn't expecting you, come on in." Brooke said walking aside allowing him to walk in.

"Yeah, I decided to surprise you. Since Haley is going out with Nathan tonight I figured I didn't want you to be in this quiet, dark, small apartment all alone." He said wrapping his arms around her waste pulling her close to him.

"Well aren't you just my little body guard." Brooke said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You got that right." He smirked as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Hi Luke." Haley ran into the living room past the couple and started flipping cushions over. She now had her hair down from the towel, still a little wet, but naturally starting to curl. Haley and Brooke looked at Haley amused as she was attacking the couch. She moved her way over to the end table and picked up the two earrings that were sitting there and ran back past the couple back into her room. "Bye Luke."

"If it's one thing I learned from growing up with Haley, it's that shes the worst when it comes to being on time." Lucas said as he joined into the laughter with Brooke.

"I heard that Lucas!" Haley screamed from the bedroom. This just made the two laugh even harder.

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**Nathan…**

5:58. Nathan was just rounding the corner to Haley and Brooke's apartment. He was right on time knowing not to be too early, or too late. He pulled into a parking space close to their unit so they wouldn't have to venture too far to get into the car. He sat in the car for a minute thinking about what this night could bring. Could it be enough to bring them both back on the right track to be friends again? Was friends enough? What was she expecting to get out of this so called date? Only time would tell. He turned off the car as he made his way towards the door. He climbed the 2 flights of stairs to make it up to the level. He was definitely beginning to get nervous and he didn't know why. Wait, yes he did know why, because it was Haley.

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**Brooke, Lucas, and Haley…**

Brooke and Lucas were sitting on the couch, after fixing it from Hurricane Haley of course, and were flipping through the channels just as Brooke had done before Lucas got there. Lucas noticed lights shine through the window and walked towards the window to look out and see who it was.

"Hales, Nathan's here!" Lucas yelled out for Haley. His response was a curse word, he figured as much, she still wasn't ready.

"I can't find my damn shoes!" Haley said aggravated popping her head out of the bedroom door, her hair now was completely dry. She looked casual, but beautiful nonetheless. Her outfit now fit together better, her hair was in loose curls flowing down her back. The only thing missing were her shoes.

"Calm down Hales, I'm sure their right under your nose." Lucas tried to calm her down. That didn't work.

"They arenot under my nose, if they were I would have found them already!" She yelled back running into the bedroom again.

In the mean time Brooke had gotten up from her spot on the couch and had opened the hall closet. She moved a few jackets that fell on the carpet, and low and behold, there were Haley's long lost flip-flops. Brooke just laughed at Haley and her craziness to overlook the obvious. She walked back into the living room with them behind her back. Lucas looked at her as if asking what she had up her sleeve. She just smiled back and turned her focus to the door where Nathan was now knocking.

"Haley, he's knocking get out here and open the door!" Brooke yelled so Haley could hear.

"Brooke, I'm not going anywhere if I can't find my sh –" Brooke held out the flip-flops so Haley could see, stopping her mid sentence.

"Shoes. Where did you find them?" Haley asked after she finished her sentence.

"In the closet Hales, now go answer the door." Brooke smiled at her as she pushed Lucas out of the living room with her so Haley could have some privacy with Nathan.

Haley nervously fixed her hair quickly to look presentable before opening the door. She opened it and stood there taking in what she had been missing for so long.

"Hi." That was all she could get out while she took it all in.

"Hey Hales." There it was. Her nickname that he always used. She missed that. She didn't wait any longer she wrapped her arms around him and he pulled her into a hug. He took in the smell of her hair that he had once known for so long. Haley was the first to pull away. She looked him in his icy-blue eyes, the ones she always felt safe in.

"You look great." Nathan said, breaking the silence.

"Thanks, so do you." Haley replied shyly. They just enjoyed each others company for another minute before Nathan once again broke the silence.

"So, you ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah, lets go." They walked out the door together, Nathan escorting her out. When Brooke and Lucas heard the door shut, they came out of the other room deciding it was clear to come out.

"They're so cute." Brooke gushed as she looked at the door that just closed. Lucas came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He put his head on top of her shoulder and spoke in her ear.

"So are you." Brooke turned around to face him with a grin on her face.

"Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Scott?" Brooke asked as she put her arms around him also.

"Is it working?" Lucas asked leaning down a bit.

"A little bit." Brooke laughed as she closed the space between the two. The couple kissed passionately as if they didn't want to let go. Well, in reality, neither one wanted to.

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**Nathan and Haley…**

Nathan and Haley had made it to the restaurant. They had both ordered and were almost finished eating. The conversations just consisted of where Haley was now in her life, and everything he missed out on. And how Nathan wanted to try out for High Flyers again next year, hoping for his knee to be completely healed and healthy to play. Of course, neither one wanted to talk about the inevitable. The real things they wanted to say to each other. Neither knew what the other one would have said, so they kept it a secret. For now.

"So when is this show your playing down here?" Nathan asked her as they both finished their dinners.

"Next week, and I think it's going to be my last show for a while." She replied looking anywhere but at him.

"Why? Haley, I thought you loved doing this, touring and singing." He told her truly confused as to why she wanted to stop.

"I did, I still do, it's just, it makes me have to sacrifice so much you know, and now the sacrifices are getting bigger and I don't know if I can handle losing anything more in my life." She said, now looking him straight in the eye. He had a feeling he knew what some of the sacrifices were, but he chose to not bring that subject up.

"Well, you know what's best for you, so if you feel like you want to stop then do what you feel is best, but don't let people decide things for you, trust me, that's an area I know all too well."

"I think it's the right thing for now." Haley answered back.

"I'm proud of you, you know." Haley was surprised at his confession. That was definitely something she didn't think she would hear from him. Unable to hide the genuine smile from appearing on her face she realized he _was_ the biggest sacrifice she ever made, and boy was she sorry she gave him up.

"Thanks Nathan, it means a lot, more then you know." Something caught her eye after she said that to him. It was a girl that seemed to be looking over at them. From what Haley could make out she had blonde hair and looked like she came right out from a California Modeling Agency. She was confused, thinking maybe it was a fan of hers, contemplating whether or not to walk over to her and get her autograph. The blonde started walking towards the table. Before Nathan got the chance to say something back, he noticed Haley looking off somewhere behind his right shoulder. He was about to ask her what caught her eye, but an all to familiar voice stopped him before he started.

"Nathan? Well, we just keep bumping into each other wherever we go don't we."

Nathan stiffened up immediately, although he wasn't too sure why. Why did he feel as though he needed to protect Haley? Why did he feel guilty for being so close tosomeone elseeven though he didn't need to feel guilty? He wasn't with Haley, he had to keep reminding himself of that, until it was drilled into his head.

"Hey Lauren."

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**Well, there it was! I hope you liked it and I hope it holds you over til I come back. Please review and let me know what you think, I've noticed the hits were down on the last chapter, so I hope people are still interested and the only way I know anyone is interested and wants me to keep going is if you review! So hit the little button right there, type a few words, and it will make me happy:) Thanks again**

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	15. When You Can't Say What You Want

**Hey guys! I know I know, I took wayyyy to long to update and I'm soo sorry, It won't happen again I promise :) . Now for this chapter, the whole thing that happens with Brooke and Lucas, I actually had this idea from before I left for florida and had it all typed up, and then Brooke and Peyton actually had a similar conversation in the finale, totally weird I know, but I swear I didnt copy :) . Anyways how bout that finale huh! Poor Nathan stuck in a car, underwater I might add, I was very upset, lol, and I swear they really better get picked up for a forth season, I need to know who's pregnant, and what's going to happen! jeeezzz... Anyways back to this... thanks to all my lovely reviewers this time, there wasn't many, so please everyone review, even its just short and sweet, anything...and Nathanlvr, I'm going to use your idea I promise, I already incorperated it into the story, but unfortunetly it is going to be down the road more, I found a good place to make it happen so look for it later on! Thanks again to all the reviewers.. Here's Chapter 15 enjoy...**

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**Nathan and Haley…**

"_Hey Lauren."_

Haley just sat there and watched the exchange between the two. She watched the blonde girl flirt with her ex-boyfriend. She felt a weird feeling in her stomach. Almost as if she was going to be sick.

"So who's this you're having dinner with?" Lauren asked Nathan as she finally acknowledged Haley's presence.

"Oh, um, Lauren this is my –" Nathan stopped as he was about to address her as his girlfriend, but quickly recovered. "Haley, this is Haley, uh Haley this is Lauren." He refused to make eye contact with Haley in case she noticed his slip up.

Lauren stuck her hand out to Haley. Haley sat there debating whether to be nice or not. She decided to be nice and shook Laurens hand in return.

"It's nice to meet you." Haley said politely.

"It's nice to finally meet you too. I've heard so much about you." Lauren said.

"Really?" Haley looked at Nathan, not sure what to think.

"Oh, all good, don't worry." Lauren said with a certain twinkle in her eye. Haley just nodded to her and started wondering things.

Who was this girl? How does Nathan know her? Are they friends? Are they more than friends? Haley didn't know what to think. As she sat there and watched the two continue talking, she wondered if this was the _'Girlfriend'_ that Dan ever so slightly mentioned. Her thoughts were interrupted by the blonde speaking to her again.

"It was nice meeting you Haley." She then directed her attention back to Nathan.

"I'll let you go, but call me later, maybe we can get together or something. Bye Superstar." She left just as quickly as she came. Nathan watched her leave. When he turned back to Haley they both locked their gaze and never left eye contact. They both had a feeling in their stomachs, a feeling that was new to both of them. For Haley it was jealousy. She envied Lauren and the "Relationship" she shared with Nathan. But for Nathan, he harbored a new feeling this time, a feeling he was surprised he felt.

_Guilt.

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

Brooke and Lucas were sitting on the couch watching a movie that Brooke had picked out for them to watch together. After Lucas repeatedly saying he would not watch a chick flick, Brooke in the end won and Lucas had to watch one anyway. Lucas sat at one end of the couch, his arm around Brooke as she leaned on his chest to watch the movie. The movie wasn't over yet, but Brooke was beginning to get bored. She tilted her head up to Lucas and kissed him on the lips. They stared in each others eyes for a few silent minutes until Lucas broke the silence.

"What are you thinking about, pretty girl?" Lucas asked her.

"How much I love when you call me that." Brooke laughed slightly. She had been silently thinking about something else, but decided not to bring it up just yet.

"Haley's still not home yet, I hope their having a good time." Lucas said as his thoughts drifted to his best friend.

"Yeah, somehow I think they're doing just fine." Brooke said.

"Please tell me this wasn't another one of your little plans." Lucas asked her with a smirk on his face.

"No, this time my genius of a mind had nothing to do with it. But you just wait, there will be a time when you will be begging me to help you concoct a plan of your own!" Brooke said chuckling at the look Lucas had just given her.

"What ever you say Brooke, whatever you say." He said as he held her closer. The truth was that he was happier then ever since he got Brooke back. He had been spending more time with her every day and he couldn't think of a second when he wasn't totally in love with her. The way she made him feel when all she did was just smile at him, or even just look at him. The kiddish little butterflies he would get when she would laugh at something he said, the schoolboy crush that he had on Brooke Davis, and he loved every second of it. There was just one thing in the back of his mind that had been sort of bothering him for a while. He knew it probably shouldn't bother him, but he couldn't help it. He loved this girl, but he didn't know where her head was at.

"I love you Brooke." Lucas said looking her straight in the eye.

"I know you do, I never doubt it Luke, never." Brooke said smiling as she leaned in for another kiss. Lucas pulled away before it got too heated and he wouldn't be able to pull away.

"What's wrong?" Brooke asked him, confusion filling her face.

"Say it." Lucas said as he watched her facial expressions.

"Say what?" Brooke asked still obviously still confused.

"Say you love me." Lucas said softly.

"I do Lucas, you know that." She said starting to get defensive.

"No Brooke actually I don't know that, because you never say it to me!" Lucas demanded.

"Of course I do!"

"No, Brooke, actually you haven't said it once since we got back together and it's starting to make me wonder.." Lucas yelled, but was soon cut off by a now angry Brooke.

"Wonder what Lucas? You know how I feel about you, you know how I felt after you broke my heart with Peyton. I loved you after all of that and _now_ you question what I feel for you!" Brooke yelled back.

"Brooke, don't bring up the past, it's over with and has nothing to do with what I asked you!"

"Clearly it has everything to do with what you asked me, otherwise Peyton would not have been in this conversation."

"You brought her into it!" He yelled at her, thinking shes absolutely crazy for saying he brought up a subject that she brought up.

"Lucas! Ugh I hate fighting with you! Why do you always push me away when we finally have something so good!" Her arms were flailing through the air, as she started to get angrier by the second.

"Brooke, I'm not trying to push you away! I asked you a simple question, and you still haven't answered it."

"It's a ridiculous question Lucas! You shouldn't have to ask your _girlfriend_ that!"

"I wouldn't have to ask if _she_ just said it on her own!" He bit back.

"I do!"

"Say it Brooke! Tell me you love me!" Lucas demanded.

"I…" She started, but she just couldn't finish and she didn't know why. Lucas laughed sarcastically.

"I guess I have my answer then don't I?" He shook his head in disbelief as he walked towards the door.

"Lucas please don't go." Brooke pleaded. He ignored her request opened the door and began to walk out.

"Lucas!" Brooke screamed after him, he just kept walking straight for his car. He slammed his car door, and his car squealed off. Brooke walked back into the apartment and closed the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door, and the tears started to fall. She just couldn't say it.

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**Haley and Nathan…**

They had left the restaurant shortly after Lauren had paid her little visit. They were walking on the docks. Passing other couples, holding hands, kissing. Little kids being herded by their parents probably because it was their bedtime.

"You've been quiet since we left the restaurant, you okay?" Nathan asked her.

"Yeah I'm fine, I had a really good time tonight Nathan. I missed hanging out with you." She laughed as she bumped her shoulder into his.

"Yeah, so did I." He smiled back at her.

"So um, how do you know Lauren?" Nathan winced when he asked her this. There was no doubt in his mind, that this was what had been bothering her. He just hoped she would never ask.

"She's just a friend. I met her here at the docks one night, and we've just seen each other around." He said explaining himself.

"That's nice. She seems really nice. I think she likes you." Haley knew she was treading on dangerous waters. She just had to see his reaction to this to know for sure where his head was in terms of Lauren.

"That's ridiculous, Hales. We haven't even known each other for more than a week. We're just friends trust me."

"I'm just saying. I can tell those things you know." She chuckled lightly. She really was tired of trying to get him to notice that she still had feelings for him.

"Is this weird?" Nathan asked looking at her sideways.

"Is what weird?"

"Talking about this stuff, with you." Nathan asked. Haley's heart sunk.

"It shouldn't be. I mean we're friends right." Haley asked.

"Well yeah, I mean I guess. I mean it's kind of awkward don't you think."

"It doesn't have to be Nathan." Haley said towards him. Nathan noticed a certain change of tone in her voice.

"I know, I just, we have a lot to deal with, with us, and talking about other girls is just kind awkward to me." Nathan had said, knowing that he might have just hit a nerve.

"It shouldn't feel awkward to you Nathan, I mean we are only friends right?" She said icily, with an added glare on top of it. She began to walk faster, so in turn Nathan had to walk faster to catch up.

"Yeah, just friends." Nathan said softly.

By that time, Nathan just followed Haley in silence; she ended up making her way towards the car. Nathan started to open the door for Haley, but was quickly stopped.

"Don't!" Haley snapped, and she opened the door for herself. She got in and closed the door leaving Nathan standing there. He sighed and rubbed his face. It had been a long night, and this car drive was going to be the quietest most awkward car ride he probably would ever be in.

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**Lauren…**

Lauren was sitting at dinner with a few of her friends when her cell phone began to ring. She noticed who was on the caller ID and excused herself from the table, telling her friends that she had to take this call.

"Hello?"

"Have you done anything yet?"

"I just saw him tonight at the restaurant that I came to with my friends. He was with Haley."

"Are you sure it was her?"

"Of course I'm sure it was her, we were introduced." Lauren said, getting annoyed at him.

"Well, did you do something, tell me you did something."

"No! We were in a restaurant. I wasn't going to do anything here. They were just at dinner it doesn't mean they are officially together or anything."

"Yeah, well you better get a move on it so they don't become official, do you hear me?" The man demanded.

"Yeah, I got it." Lauren said softly. She was beginning to regret ever agreeing to this.

"Good, now go make me proud and get that girl out of my son's life."

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**Hope you all liked it. Please please please review, I need to know people are reading, and I can't tell if I don't get reviews. The faster you review the faster I'll update, it encourages me to write more, if more people review. So please review! **

**..Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	16. Just Try

**Hey Guys! I'm soooooooooo sorry for the long wait, I just had so much going on with school and gymnastics, but now that schools out and gymnastics is off for a couple of weeks I should be able to update more. Thanks to my reviewers : deli41321, lilmonkeygirl31, photobooth romance, jessd4491, Nathanlvr, xSmile thanks guys!...This update is super short I know, but I just wanted to get it out there because I know I left this story hanging for a while, I'll be updating soon, but I will update faster if I get alot of reviews (hint hint) haha... enjoy..**

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**Lucas…**

Lucas had left Brooke's apartment in a rush and drove back to his house. He walked in the side door to his room and slammed it shut. He sat down on his bed and stared at the bare wall in front of him. How could he have been so stupid? He put himself out there, only to be shot down. He needed to stop all this drama in his life, but he just couldn't seem to let go of her. Brooke Davis will always be a part of his life, one way or another.

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**Brooke…**

When Lucas left Brooke couldn't help but let the tears fall. She walked into the living room and plopped herself down on the couch. She hugged a pillow that was lying near by and let all her feelings out. She didn't know why she couldn't say it to him. Well, she could say it, but would that mean that she really meant it? She wanted to love Lucas, she did love Lucas, but the question was is she _in_ love with Lucas. So many questions and problems. This is why Brooke Davis doesn't do commitment, too much heartache and pain. Just then she heard the front door slam, Haley was home, and sensing from the door slam, things didn't go too smoothly. Quickly wiping the remaining tears off her face, Brooke proceeded to go see what was up with her roommate.

"Hey Hales, how'd it go?" She asked with fake happiness. Receiving a death glare from Haley, Brooke decided not to push too hard.

"That bad? What happened?"

"He said we're friends, that's what happened." Haley said now throwing plates around trying to find something to eat, which Brooke found to be ironic seeing as she just got back from dinner.

"Okay, and that would be a problem because…" Brooke asked slightly chuckling.

"It's a problem because I don't want to be just friends!" Haley yelled. Brooke stood in place shocked at Haley's revelation. Once Haley realized what she just said, she clamped both of her hands over her mouth in shock. Brooke started to smile, which soon turned into a huge grin.

"I knew it! I totally knew it! You have feelings for Nathan again and I totally called it!" She accused Haley, getting overly excited in the process.

"I…I didn't say that. I don't know what you're talking about." Haley tried to cover for herself as she made herself busy in the kitchen.

"Haley please, you practically just spelled it out with flashcards. Have you told him how you feel?"

"No, he said we were friends, plus _Lauren_ got in our way." Brooke noticed the way Haley said the name Lauren and got suspicious.

"Woah, who's Lauren?" Brooke asked.

"Nathan's "friend" who was all over him like butter on a pancake." Haley replied, using her hands as air quotations.

"I'm not even going to ask, but my advice to you is to talk to him about it, I'm sure he feels the same." Brooke said.

"I don't know. Anyway, enough of me and my problems, how was your night with Lucas?" Haley asked.

"It was…fine." Brooke said as she walked away towards her bedroom.

Haley noticed the sudden change in Brooke's mood and followed her into her room.

"Okay, let's have it, what happened?" Haley asked.

"I don't even know where to start. To make a long story short, I couldn't say, "I love you" to him, and he got pissed." Haley clearly thought Brooke was joking, and started to laugh, hysterically. Brooke gave Haley a death glare, which made Haley stop laughing.

"Are you kidding me Brooke, I thought you loved him?" Haley asked, calming down.

"I know! I thought I did too, but now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I'm just not in love with him. " Brooke said as she flopped herself onto her bed.

"Is that what it is, or are you just scared to open yourself up again?" Haley asked with a knowing look.

"I don't know." Brooke said looking down.

"Okay listen, I _know_ you love him, I see the way you look at him, the way your face lights up when you talk about him. If that's not love then I don't know what you want to call it. I think you're scared, but Brooke, you shouldn't be, he promised he wouldn't hurt you, and I know that deep down, you want to believe him. Open your heart Brooke he won't hurt you. I think you should go talk to him before it's too late."

"I don't think he wants to talk to me." Brooke said sadly.

"You'll never know if you don't try." Haley said giving Brooke a reassuring wink as Brooke began to walk out of the room. Before she reached the door, she turned around and looked towards Haley who had now made her way over to the computer.

"Hey Hales?"

"Yeah." She turned around in her computer chair to talk to Brooke.

"For what it's worth, I think Nathan still loves you too, he just doesn't realize how you feel about everything."

Haley just nodded at her getting her point as Brooke turned around and walked out of the apartment. She had to go talk to Lucas before it was too late. Before he decided he was done trying. She just hoped he would talk to her.

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**Nathan…**

Ever since he dropped Haley off at her house, he had thought back onto how the night had gone. Haley was being distant ever since they saw Lauren at the restaurant. He didn't know what was wrong with her, she seemed to be having a good time. Every time they tried to figure out what they were with each other, it always ended in a fight. They had a lot to work on if they wanted to be civil with each other. But Nathan wanted more than that. He didn't just want to be her friend and that was what was troubling him so much. He didn't know how to tell her. She kept bringing up the fact that they were just friends, and him, being a coward, just always agreed. He noticed how tense she got when they talked about just being friends, but he always thought it was just because she didn't want to talk about it, he never thought anything else of it. He had to find a way to show her how he really felt, but would she be civil enough with him when he brought it up. He would just have to find out, but what could he do to show her he really loved her?

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**There it is! I know it was short, and probably sucky, but I just thought it would be cool to get into their heads and see what they were feeling, so review and let me know what you think and I'll update faster! **

**Much Love..**

**..Haylie..**


	17. Protecting Me

**Hey guys, sorry for the wait, I know I know, bad Haylie bad... sorry, just alot of stuff has been going on and I haven't had alot of time to focus on writing, but I haven't forgot dont worry! Last chapter was just a filler type thing I know but I didnt get many reviews :( ... but thanks to those who did review : Photobooth romance, xSmile, nathanlvr, and Alison.. thanks guys I appreciate it!**

**So this chapter is focused on Brooke and Lucas, I wanted to dedicate a whole chapter to them working out their issues, so I hope everyone likes it, I think you will :)**

**Also, I don't own Anything unfortunately, the song used in this chapter is Protecting Me by Aly and AJ, I loved the song and thought it fit in with this chapter so enjoy! ..**

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**Brooke and Lucas…**

_You, you're always there for me_

_When I need you most_

_Day and night you're by my side_

_Protecting me _

_When I feel like crashing down_

_You seem to be around_

_There you are_

_You're not that far_

Brooke had left the apartment in hopes to talk to Lucas. As she drove over to his house, she thought of things she should tell him. Should she just tell him that she was scared of loving him again? Should she tell him she really does love him? Does she really love him? Of course she does, at least she wants to love him, shes just too scared to let her guard down.

She pulled into his driveway and sat in her car for a few minutes before collecting herself and walking to the side door leading to Lucas' bedroom. She knocked on the door, when Lucas opened it she half expected him to slam it in her face. She was surprised but relieved when he didn't.

"Hi." Brooke broke the silence.

"Hey." Lucas said back shyly.

"Can I come in for a minute?" She asked. Lucas nodded as she made her way in.

"Look, um, I just want to apologize for earlier – " She started before Lucas interrupted her.

"No, you shouldn't have to apologize, I overreacted. I mean, I made it sound like I was making you love me and if you didn't it wasn't okay, and that's not what I mean to do at all. It's okay that you don't love me I just freaked out that's all, it's my fault." Lucas said.

At this point Brooke had tears rolling down her cheeks. This was going to be harder than she thought.

_Whenever, wherever baby _

_You'll protect me no matter what_

_Hold me tight, with all your might _

_And you'll never let me go_

_Protecting me_

_You listen to me when_

_I speak out loud and you_

_You know right when my hearts been bent_

_When my life's tumbling around_

_You take me off the ground_

_You tell me everythings okay_

"That's not it at all Lucas, you have it all wrong. I was talking to Haley earlier and she made me realize the reason that I couldn't tell you."

Lucas was standing there in silence, only imagining the worst reasons for her not being able to tell him that she loved him.

"It's because I'm scared Lucas, okay, I'm scared." She began to cry harder as she poured her soul out to his boy.

"Scared of what Brooke?"

"I'm scared of letting my guard down and getting hurt. I can't go through that again Lucas, it hurt too much!"

"Come here." Lucas pulled her to him as she buried her head in his chest crying her heart out.

_Whenever, wherever baby_

_You'll protect me no matter what_

_Hold me tight, with all your might_

_And you'll never let me go_

_When it's my turn_

_To help you out_

_I gladly lift you up without a doubt_

"I'm not going to hurt you Brooke, I promise." Lucas pleaded with her.

"I'm scared to love you Lucas." Brooke said softly as she wiped her tears.

"Do you trust me Brooke?" Lucas asked her.

"You know I do."

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Lucas repeated to her.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Brooke said looking him in the eye.

"I'm not, I'm keeping this one." Lucas said with a small smile on his face.

"How do I know that?" Brooke asked with a pained look on her face.

"You're just gonna have to trust me." Lucas said as he stood watching her face for a reaction.

"Okay." Brooke said after a few minutes of silence.

"Okay?"

"Okay, I trust you." Brooke said with a reassuring smile. Lucas leaned in and pulled her into a gentle yet passionate kiss. Maybe they would be just fine after all.

_Whenever, wherever baby_

_You'll protect me no matter what_

_No matter what_

_Hold me tight with all your might_

_You'll never let me go_

_You, you're always there for me_

_When I need you most_

_Day and night you're by my side_

_Protecting me_

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**Well there it is Brucas fans, hope you all liked it! I know it was kinda short but I wanted to just get back out there and get back on track. Next chapter will be Naley based, them dealing with their issues and stuff. So please review and let me know what you think, even if its short and sweet its still appreciated... :)**

**Much love..**

**...Haylie...**


	18. Giving Up On Love

**Hey guys! Look it's another update! I thought I'd be nice and update for you haha. This chapter kinda just came to me so I was able to write it quickly. It would have been up sooner but there was a problem with the document loader thingy today and it wasn't working. BUT its here now! Also thanks to those who reviewed : xSmile , tutorgirl0825 , photobooth romance, jcriminal714 ... I appreciate it! Sooo here's chapter 18 .. enjoy!**

**Also, the song used is Wreck of the Day by Anna Nalick...I dont own the song, or anything for that matter. I wish I owned James though...anyways onto the story! **

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

**Lauren…**

_Driving away from the wreck of the day_

_And the light's always red in the rear-view_

_Desperately close to a coffin of hope_

_I'd cheat destiny just to be near you_

_If this is giving up, then I'm giving up_

_On love, on love_

After receiving several threats from her "boss" Lauren decided tonight would be the night she would make her move. She made her way over to Nathan's house. He answered the door, shocked to see her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked as nicely as he could, he really wanted to be alone tonight, stress free from the strange night he just had with Haley.

"Well I just figured you wanted to hang out for a bit, after all, you didn't call me like I told you to at dinner." Lauren said making her way past him and into his house.

"Yeah, I meant to call you, I just got a little…caught up." He said hesitantly finding an excuse.

"So, how was your little date with Haley?" Lauren asked.

"Well, it was going good at first, then it got really awkward." Nathan said hinting that he didn't want to talk about it. Obviously Lauren didn't get the hint.

"How come?" She said acting interested.

"You." Nathan said back, not looking her in the eye, missing her smirk.

"Well, did you tell her we were friends?"

"Yeah, but I don't think she trusts me yet, which is understandable."

"Well, if you are going to be moping around all night, I'm going to leave." When Nathan looked at her expectantly, she laughed.

"Okay, you're not getting rid of me that easily. You need to get over your little disagreement with Haley, and I am going to help you with that. Come on." Lauren pulled Nathan by the arm out the door before he could protest.

_Driving away from the wreck of the day_

_And I'm thinking bout calling on Jesus_

_Cause love doesn't hurt so I know I'm not falling in love_

_I'm just falling to pieces_

They ended up getting dinner real quick by the docks, followed by a movie. By the time they were back at Nathans they were both laughing at Lauren as she was telling him some story.

"…and then he said, it wasn't a burglar, it was my grandma." Lauren finished as both laughed hysterically at it.

"You know, I really had fun tonight." Nathan said still smiling.

"You sound surprised." Lauren said.

"No, just, you really made me forget about everything, even if it was only for a little while. I needed that, so thanks." Nathan said sincerely.

"Well, I should probably get going, your parents are probably inside wondering where you've been."

"Trust me, they're not. They're hardly ever home, my mom's away on business all the time while my dad's busy playing mayor. Do you want to come in for a little while, hang out, it's cool if you cant I just thought -"

"That sounds like a plan." She laughed at his ramblings as they made their way inside.

"I'd ask you for a game of NBA Live but you probably don't know how to play." Nathan said trying to make conversation.

"Are you kidding, I can kick your ass." Nathan looked at her shocked.

"Never underestimate me Scott, I do have a brother remember." Lauren said smiling.

"Fine, you're on!" Nathan said leading her up to his room.

Thirty minutes later, Lauren was actually winning. When she finally did win, she felt the need to rub it in Nathans face.

"See, I told you I'd kick your ass, I'm better than you just admit it, loser." Lauren taunted him. Nathan turned to her with his signature smirk.

"Oh is that right?" Nathan teased as he began tickling her.

"Nathan! AH stop!"

"Take it back!" Nathan laughed still tickling her.

"Okay, okay, you're not a loser!" Lauren laughed out as Nathan stopped tickling her. They were both still laughing when Lauren realized how close they were to each other. Lauren felt bad about what she was about to do, but her brother needed the money, she decided it was now or never as she leaned forward. Yep, she just might regret this later.

_And if this is giving up then I'm giving up_

_If this is giving up then I'm giving up, giving up_

_On love, on love _

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

**Haley…**

Haley was sitting inside her apartment all night debating what to do. She finally decided she would go to Nathan's to talk things out with him, tell him how she feels. She made it to Nathan's house and knocked on the door. No one answered. She noticed neither Deb nor Dan was home, so she tried the doorknob. She found it to be open.

"Nathan!" She yelled for him. After not finding him in the living room or kitchen she made her way up to his room.

_Maybe I'm not up For being a victim of love_

_When all my resistance _

_Will never be distance enough_

As she ascended the stairs she heard laughing coming from Nathan's room. As she got closer to the door, she noticed it had gotten quieter. Making her way into his room, she also noticed that Nathan wasn't alone. She found Nathan sitting on his bed with Lauren pretty close to him. As Haley was about to announce her presence Lauren leaned in and kissed Nathan. Haley's mouth dropped open in shock at the sight of their lip lock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Not only was Nathan kissing another girl that wasn't her, he was kissing a girl who he promised her he was just friends with. She couldn't help herself and before she knew it tears were welled in her eyes. She didn't trust her voice at the moment, but she couldn't help her mouth from leaking the words.

"Oh My God." She said softly, but loud enough for Nathan and Lauren to hear. She didn't trust herself to say anything else.

_Driving away from the wreck of the day_

_And it's finally quiet in my head_

_Driving alone, finally on my way home_

_To the comfort of my bed_

Lauren and Nathan broke apart at Haley's outburst.

"Haley" Nathan sat there feeling a mix of emotions, all the way from guilt to fear. Fear of losing her, again. As Haley ran out of the room practically in tears, Nathan followed, also running out. He ran out so fast that he failed to notice the smirk present on Laurens face.

_And if this is giving up, then I'm giving up_

_On love, on love_

**XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX**

**Well there it is! I hope you liked it! The ruler thing wasn't working so I just shoved stuff in there to make a line haha. Well I hope you liked the chapter... don't be too mad :( ... all I can say is don't give up hope just yet.. this is a naley story .. but that doesn't mean there won't be drama. So please please please review, it helps me update faster. Thanks again!**

**Much Love..**

**...Haylie...**


	19. Not As Easy As You Think

**Hey guys! sorry again it took so long, but I wrote this chapter in study hall this week so sorry if its short i just wanted to get something out there. Thanks to everyone who reviewed we broke 100! yay!.. haha so heres chapter 19 hope you guys enjoy!... ALSO make sure to check out the A/N at the bottom, its got some important info about a new story!

* * *

****Nathan and Haley…**

_Only save_

_Try to find another way_

_I'm taking what I gave to you again_

_Some new day I could understand your face_

_You could even hold my hand if you would like to_

Nathan ran down the stairs of his home, ignoring the calls of Lauren behind him. Hearing the door slam, he knew she left his house. He opened the front door just as she was getting into her car.

"Haley!" Nathan yelled to her hoping she would stop and listen to him.

Briefly they made eye contact. Nathan soon regretted it, when he saw the mixed look of sadness and as if all her hope had been crushed. He especially regretted it when he saw the tears streaming down her beautiful face. He knew this was going to be hard to explain to her, if she ever let him.

"Haley, wait, please let me explain!" Nathan watched as tears began to well up in her eyes again and she broke eye contact with him.

Getting into her car she drove off into the night, without looking back. Nathan ran his hands through his hair. Why does everything go wrong in his life? Just then he heard footsteps behind him, coming down the stairs, he turned around to see Lauren with a look of regret present on her face.

"Nathan, I'm – " She started to say before she was cut off.

"I think you need to go." Nathan said as calmly as he could.

When Lauren saw the look of pure guilt on his face, she knew he was serious. She also knew that the deal that she made with the devil himself was much harder than she thought it would be. Lauren left more confused than ever. She wasn't supposed to fall for him.

Haley made her way down to the Rivercourt. She sat on the bleachers and let all her emotions run free. She heard a car pull up, and the doors opened and slammed shut. She didn't turn around, she kept her stare at the river in front of her. He made his way up to her and sat down next to her. She still kept looking ahead at the river.

_It came up unexpected_

_I had to follow through_

_And it's hard when you were working like you do_

_It was easy when you were younger_

_You can put it back together _

_It was there if you ever wanted it_

_But you closed the door and said _

_Goodbye for good_

"How did I know I was going to find you here?" he asked.

Still not breaking her stare, she shrugged, but didn't respond. He noticed the wetness on her cheeks and decided to bring up what he knew she didn't want to talk about.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, looking straight ahead of him instead of at her. Almost as if to find what she was staring at.

"I could be better." She finally said, but she still didn't break her gaze.

"You know, I never knew water was so interesting to you." He joked. She finally looked at him and he saw the destroyed look in her eyes.

"He really hurt me this time Lucas." Haley said as she began crying again.

Lucas pulled her into a side hug and was her shoulder to cry on, literally. Lucas tried to get through to her. After Nathan had called him and told him, he had asked Lucas to go talk to her and make sure she was okay. After all he's the only one who can get past the walls she puts up.

_So this is a mistake_

_Try to find a better way_

_You were never fond of anything I said_

_Can we begin again_

_Save it for another friend_

_I was happy in my life I won't pretend_

"If it makes you feel any better, he feels just as bad as you do, believe it or not."

"Not. I thought we were getting somewhere, I really did, and apparently I was wrong, again." Haley said as she lifted her head off his shoulder.

"Did you ever think that maybe he didn't initiate the kiss Hales?" He asked her, deciding it wasn't too good of an idea when she snapped at him.

"It doesn't matter, he did nothing to stop it!"

"How do you know that? You ran away before you could see what happened after."

"How do you know I ran out?"

"He called me a little while ago. He told me that you saw Lauren kiss him, but you ran out before you saw him break it off. Look, maybe you should talk to him, he's really worried about you." He tried again.

"Yeah, well maybe he should have thought about that before he decided to suck face with that slut." Haley said as she stood up off the bleachers to walk away.

"What happened to the Haley I used to know, the one who used to forgive anyone, no matter how bad they hurt her?"

"She fell in love, went on tour, and then got dumped that's what happened to her. I can't even imagine forgiving him right now." She started walking back towards her car. Lucas began to feel for her, he had never seen something affect her so much all the time he knew her.

"That's weak Hales, I mean I know how bad your hurting, I've been in that position before, and I know it's hard, but trust me, just hear him out on this one."

"Why are you sticking up for him?" She yelled as she turned to face him.

"I'm not Haley, but he's my brother I'm just trying to help him out." He tried to reason with her.

"And I'm supposed to be your best friend!" She shouted back.

"You are!"

"I'm not going to fight with you Lucas, please just leave me alone right now." Her voice broke at the end of the sentence and right then Lucas knew just how bad he was hurting.

"Fine just know that you are my best friend and I love you Hales, but I miss the Haley that gave everyone a second chance. Nathan told me to come talk to you because I'm the only one who can get past your walls, and I'm telling you just listen to him. You know Haley, there are three sides to every story. There's your side, there's his side, and there's the truth. Just hear him out, it might be different than you think."

He left her standing at the Rivercourt thinking about what he just said, and she was. Maybe Lucas was right, but how was she to know for sure? She wasn't ready to face Nathan yet, truthfully she was scared, and after all, a kiss always means something.

_Every time you were expecting _

_To reach out and forgive this_

_I was hardened by the look upon your face_

_It was easy when we were younger _

_You can put it back together _

_It was there if you ever wanted it _

_But you closed the door_

_And said goodbye for good

* * *

_

**So there it is! Hope everyone liked it, please review and let me know what you think. Also the song used is EZ by Pete Yorn. Umm what else.. **

**oh yeah also im toying with the idea of making another story (without abandoning this one, haha i wouldnt do that to you guys!) but one that is basically written by everyone. Ive read a few stories on this site that were done like this and the idea seemed pretty neat to me, basically anyone who is interested just let me know email me or whatever and we'll decide on a story line to follow, then everyone can take turns writing chapters for the story, or everyone can write every chapter and we can just pick the best fitting one or something i dont know haha but i thought it might be a good idea. Of course i would credit your work by saying who wrote it i would not claim it as my own so dont worry. But, so if anyone is interested email me, ill get a group of people together well decide on a story line, then we can decide where to go from there! lil experiment haha**

**much love..**

**..Haylie..**


	20. Friendly Advice

**Hey guys! woo this one was a lil bit of a faster update huh? haha well heres wow chapter 20 already.. this story is flying by.. but dont worry it is far from over. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter.. I really appreciate it. Enjoy the new episode tonight, oh by the way how good was the premiere? I KNOW I KNOW! Definitely loved it! James looked so fineeeeeee... ok haha im done .. enjoy! ..

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****Brooke and Lucas…**

Lucas walked back from the Rivercourt to Brooke and Haley's apartment. Brooke was in the middle of _trying_ to make dinner. He rang the doorbell and waited as he heard pots and pans clanging and a few swear words every once in a while until the door finally had opened. By then Lucas had an amused smile on his face.

"Lucas, hey." She replaced the frustrated look on her face with a smile as she kissed him sweetly on the lips. They made their way inside.

"What's going on in there, it sounded like you were attacking your kitchen, or it was attacking you maybe." He said as he suppressed a laugh.

"I was **trying** to make dinner, but it wasn't working." Brooke said with a pout.

"Clearly." Lucas said unable to control his laughter.

"Hey, watch it mister." She joked.

"Sorry, but I needed a laugh right about now."

"Why, what's going on?" she asked concerned as she made her way back into the kitchen.

"Stuff with Haley and Nathan, I always promised myself I wouldn't get involved with anything dealing with their problems, but here I am once again." He said tiredly as he followed Brooke.

"Why what happened between them now?"

"You mean you don't know?" He asked. He couldn't believe it, news in Tree Hill usually spreads like wildfire, and somehow it hadn't made its way to Brooke yet.

"No, Haley hasn't been home all day since she left this morning to go.. talk to Nathan, oh my god what did he do now I swear I'll – "She said as she began to furiously take her apron off.

"Brooke, I'm taking care of it, plus he feels bad enough." Lucas said trying to change the subject.

"Well he should for whatever he did, what did he do by the way?" Brooke was beginning to feel left out.

"He .. might have accidentally kissed Lauren and Haley saw." Lucas said reluctantly.

"What! Oh he is so - ! How do you accidentally kiss someone? And who the hell is Lauren!" Brooke asked starting to get angry. This situation seemed to bring back some memories from her past that she particularly didn't want to deal with at the moment.

"Lauren is a friend of Nathan's I guess. She kissed him first and Haley ran out before she saw him pull away first." Lucas explained.

"How do you know he pulled away first?"

"Nathan told me when he called me earlier."

"And you believe him!" She couldn't believe he chose to believe Nathan, known for being the biggest player in the town.

"What else am I supposed to believe, Nathan isn't like that anymore, I trust him." He tried to convince Brooke, and she wasn't having any of it.

"Well that makes one of us. How can you trust his word over your best friend's when he has the past that he does!"

"He's not like that anymore Brooke!" No one seemed to trust him on this one.

"Apparently he is! Look, I really don't want to fight with you Lucas okay, let's just talk about something else for now, please." Brooke asked almost begging to change the subject.

Lucas wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

"I missed you today, I'm sorry we couldn't do anything together, my mom needed me at the café." He said reluctantly.

"No, it's okay, I had some things to do around here anyway."

"Yeah? Like what?" Seeming truly interested in what his girlfriend's day consisted of.

"I made a few dresses for Clothes over Bro's, cleaned a bit, tried to make dinner, homework.." Lucas started to laugh. Brooke gave him a look and decided to explain himself.

"Brooke Davis did her homework?"

"Okay maybe not, but I was on a roll, it just sounded like it fit with my day." Lucas laughed again when she started to laugh herself.

"How about since dinner didn't work out too well, we go out, just the tow of us, what do you say?"

"That sounds amazing, give me about an hour and we can go, I just need to do something first."

"Like what?" Lucas asked curiously.

"Nothing, nothing important. I'll see you later."

Lucas gave Brooke a quick kiss before he left. She left not too much after Lucas left, and she made her way over to the one person's house where she felt she just needed to go. He needed someone right now, she just hoped she was that someone.

* * *

**Brooke...**

She knocked on he door and waited until it opened. When it did, she wasn't too shocked to find the sight before her. His hair was ruffled, the house looked like it hadn't been cleaned in days, the playstation was up and running, and he stood before her with beer in hand.

"How are you?" She asked carefully. He sent a look her way.

"You wanna ask me that again?"

"Sorry." She winced at the tone she received.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, wanting to get to the point.

"Can't I just check up on a friend?" She asked lightly.

"Brooke." He said with a warning like tone.

"Nathan." She mocked back.

"Look if you're here to give me another lecture you can just save your breath, I've had all the lectures I need to, trust me." He said as he made his way back to his couch. He picked up the controller to begin to play NBA Live, but was soon surprised when Brooke ripped it out of his hands.

"Look, I'm not going to lecture you okay. I thought you might want someone to talk to." Brooke tried to reason with him. She didn't seem as if she was getting through to him. She didn't know what else to do.

"I don't need your sympathy either." He snapped.

"You know what Nathan, next time I just wont even try how about that." She got up off the couch and began to make her way towards the door. As she got closer she was stopped by his voice.

"Brooke wait! I'm, I'm sorry okay. Its just I've been having a really hard time with this, and everyone's been yelling at me and its all just getting to be too much. I know I did something wrong, and I regret it beyond belief, but I can't take it back no matter how much I want to. I don't know how to fix this." His voice cracked towards the end of his sentence. It was then that Brooke knew this boy was truly hurt on the inside. He never let his feelings show through for anyone, apparently anything involving Haley was a total different story.

"Did you kiss her?" Brooke asked him softly almost in a whisper.

"No, Brooke you gotta believe me. She kissed me and I was so shocked, as soon as I realized what was going on I pulled away I swear Brooke I would never do this on purpose." He sounded more sincere than Brooke has ever heard him be.

"Do you remember when I found out that Lucas had kissed Peyton in the Library during the shooting?" The school shooting was a very sensitive subject even now, but when Nathan nodded his head she continued.

"I got the wrong impression but I chose to believe it because it was all I knew. I felt like a piece of my world was taken from me when I found out my boyfriend was kissing someone that wasn't me. It hurt more than I thought I could be hurt. I've never experienced that much emotional pain in my life. I refused to listen to Lucas or Peyton's side of the story I just knew my own side. When I did go to Lucas and he explained things to me, it was really hard to trust him again, but we worked our way back and we're better than ever right now. It's going to be really hard, but Haley will let you in again I promise, you just have to let her cool down first. I believe you didn't kiss that Lauren girl first, but you need to get Haley to believe you. Trust me when I tell you do all you can, shes in a hard place, I know she is, I've been there and it is somewhere I don't want to ever be again. You need to keep trying to explain things to her, get her to listen to you, do whatever you can."

"I will, if she only waited a few more seconds she would have seen me push her away." He said regretfully.

"Things happen for a reason Nathan."

"I care about her so much Brooke, she doesn't even know, and I was planning on telling her before all this happened."

"I know you care about her Nathan, and you can quote me when I say she feels the same about you, she told me."

"Yeah well, not so much anymore. I wouldn't like me anymore either if I was her."

"Well you're not her, and even know deep down she cares about you too." Nathan looked uneasy about what Brooke had said.

"How is she?" He asked so softly Brooke had a hard time hearing him.

"I don't know actually, Lucas told me everything. He met up with her at the Rivercourt, shes been there all day apparently. She was pretty broken up from the way Lucas described things."

At this point Nathan was now making his way off the couch and towards the front door. He grabbed a sweatshirt to cover his pizza stained t-shirt he was wearing, which probably hadn't been changed in a day or two. He was making his way out the door when he remembered Brooke was still in his house.

"Hey Brooke? Thanks, you've more than helped me, I owe you big time."

"No problem Nate." She said smiling. She made her way out of his house also and started making her way over to her car. Before she got in she thought she would give Nathan one more piece of advice.

"Hey Nathan?" He turned around expectantly.

"No matter how hard things get, fight for her until no end okay?" Smiling at his friend he replied back.

"I will. Thanks again Brooke." She nodded and got into her car and drove away. Nathan got into his car and drove off into the night.

He was going to get his girl.

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**There it wasss chapter 20! Hope you guys liked it. Couple things: 1). Please review I only got a few last chapter (thank you guys!) but the more you guys review the faster I update because I have more encouragement... so please just drop a lil something doesnt have to be long or anything just to know you guys are still reading this. 2) I didnt get any feedback on that new idea that I had about doing another story. Um if you guys didnt like the idea its totally okay I understand I just thought it might be fun for all of us to take part in one story so if your interested check out the authors note in the previous chapter for the details. Again email me if your interested and like I said well decide on a story line, write out some chapters ill post them of course granting credit to who ever wrote the chapter. If your interested let me know if not I guess I wont work on another story until way after this one is done .. I have no pending ideas as of yet so.. okay im rambling.. enjoy oth tonite!**

**Much Love...**

**..Haylie..**


	21. The Right Thing To Do

**Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, I just haven't had the time to write and I just finished the chapter about 5 minutes ago haha. I'm actually not sure if the chapter alert thing is working but I felt that I made you all wait long enough so here it is! Thanks to all my reviewers it means alot to me: Miki012, xSmile, Alexa, naleysocute23**, **brutus**, **Naleylovin'Princess**, **naleyforevernalways23, chelle2911**, **photobooth romance. Thanks for reviewing! **

**Now the much waited naley reunion, is not in this chapter, sorry! But there is much more in it dealing with Lauren and such. The song used is Sticks and Stones by Aly and AJ. its a good song, you should check it out if you dont already know of it. Anyway look for another chapter maybe the end of this week or the weekend possibly. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! BE SAFEEEE! enjoy.. !

* * *

****Brooke…**

_Sitting in my room_

_Feeling sorry for myself_

_I can't feel worse_

_Well what else?_

_I wonder what I could say_

Brooke made her way back to her apartment after lending Nathan some much needed advice. She now had only a short period of time to get ready to go to dinner with Lucas. She hurried as she threw a knee length black dress that hugged her in all the right places. She briefly curled her hair so the curls fell lightly on her back. She had just finished putting on her makeup when there was a knock at her door. She opened it and genuinely smiled when she saw who was on the other side. She couldn't help that just the site of him makes her smile.

"Wow, Brooke you look… beautiful." Lucas said in awe.

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself." She said smiling even wider.

"Are you ready to go?" Lucas asked.

"Almost, I just need to get my shoes." She gave him a quick wink and walked into her bedroom closet, quickly grabbed some black stilettos, met Lucas in the living room and they both left together arm in arm. They arrived at a fancy restaurant, which surprised Brooke a bit.

_To stop the voices, taunting and laughing_

_The way they're acting I wish they'd just disappear_

_The joke is always on me_

_Its always on me_

"Luke! This is amazing, you've never taken me to a place like this before." Brooke said clearly amazed at where they were eating. She never expected anything like this when they decided to go have dinner, she almost felt guilty as to why he thought he had to impress her all the time.

"Well, I'm trying some new things. How am I doing so far?" He asked putting his arms around her waist.

"So far so good. But you know that you don't have to bring me to places like this, just being with you is all I ask for." She said ginning shyly.

"I know, but I wanted to do this for you. I love you pretty girl." She smiled at him and kissed him quickly as they turned to follow the hostess to their seats, her smile fading slightly. There was that L word again.

_Why don't they understand_

_That we are all the same_

_We all feel lost at times_

_Why don't they understand_

_That someone else's pain_

_Is not for gain…

* * *

_

**Lauren…**

_Sticks and stones won't break my soul_

_Get out of the way I'm invincible_

_Thrown them down_

_Cause the one you hurts not around, not around_

_Its not your place, honestly…_

After Lauren watched Nathan leave his house close to tears, the guilt set in. She too left his house, but had no place to go. She didn't want to go to the Rivercourt because changes were that someone that now hated her would be there. She somehow ended up at the Tree Hill High gym. Basketball has been a part of her life forever, her brother's too. Whenever she needed time to think, she found peace in basketball. When she found out her brother was sick, she was found at the basketball court. There was just something comforting in the sport for her.

She knew Tree Hill High's gym was the only other basketball court in town. She walked through the doors to the gym, the lights were on, but no one was there. She walked over to the bleachers and sat down. She sat, and thought about her life and the things she was doing. She wanted to go to college, study pre-med and eventually become a doctor. But her plans changed when her brother, her twin brother, and her best friend became very sick.

_In the end you'll be the victim_

_You're the one who has to live with yourself_

_And when you're reaching for help_

_There'll be no one _

_There's no one_

He was diagnosed with Leukemia at the young age of 18. All of his treatments were expensive and he had no way to pay them, no insurance. Their parents were no longer in the picture due to their lack of care for either of their children. So she took it upon herself to pay off some of his hospital bills. It didn't cover everything though. She couldn't finish college now that her savings were gone. She needed money fast and at the time Dan offered her the "job" she had no other choice, but she was now regretting it.

_Why don't you understand_

_That we are all the same_

_And we all feel lost at times_

_Why don't you understand_

_That someone else's pain_

_Is not for gain…_

She never wanted to tear apart two people who were so obviously in love. She also didn't think she'd end up having feelings for Nathan either. She had to end this before things really got out of hand. Little did she know what would happen to the couple when she wasn't involved.

_Sticks and stones won't break my soul_

_Get out of the way I'm invincible_

_Throw them down cause the one_

_You hurts not around, not around_

_It's not your place, honestly…

* * *

_

**Brooke and Lucas…**

The couple was seated at a table secluded in their own little corner, just the two of them. They had already ordered their meals and were just waiting on their food to come. Romantic music played in the background while the lights were dimmed just right. Almost too perfect.

"You know Broody, I must say this is quite the romantic dinner. I think your getting soft on me." Brooke joked.

"I just realized that I really want to be with you Brooke, you're special to me, so a special place for a special girl." Lucas smiled; Brooke was about to respond when the waiter came with their food. They thanked the waiter and turned their attention back to each other.

"So what are we doing after this?" Brooke asked.

"Whatever you want, I think it will be too late for a movie, you want to just crash at your place for a while?" Lucas proposed.

"Yeah, that way we can be alone for a while." Brooke smiled suggestively, but then her smile quickly faded.

"What?" Lucas asked.

"I just thought of why we'd be alone. I hope Haley is doing okay. She hasn't come to talk to me and I haven't seen her around. She always talks to me that's the weird thing."

"She was really hurt when I saw her, she would barely talk to me and I've known her for years. I think she just wants to be alone for a while, it's definitely not a good situation to be in." Lucas said sympathetically.

"Yeah, trust me I know." Brooke said. Lucas feeling the awkward vibe between the two changed the subject.

"Anyways lets go, I think we need some good earned alone time if you know what I mean." Lucas said winking suggestively.

"Oh Broody I love how you think!" Brooke said standing up and making her way towards the door, leaving Lucas to quickly follow after her.

* * *

**Lauren…**

_I won't live in chains I've got something to give_

_I won't play these games_

_Yeah, I'd rather live_

_You know I've come too far_

_To be like you are_

Lauren walked out of the gym and made her way over to the devils house. She was literally shaking. This man was so powerful she didn't know what he would do to her. She walked onto the driveway, contemplated really doing this, and walked up to the door. She knocked and when he opened the door Lauren was met with his trademark smirk.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dan asked.

"You owe me nothing." She snapped as she made her way past him. She was terrified but she would never show it.

"Actually if you do your job, I owe you something."

"That's what I'm here to talk to you about."

"Are you finally making some progress?" He asked with an attitude.

"You know its really really sad that you find pleasure in ruining your sons life." Lauren said disgusted.

"She's just a distraction for him." He defended himself.

"He loves her!" She said incredulously.

"He doesn't know what love is, he's too young!"

"Oh really. Let me get this straight Dan, you were in high school when you got Karen pregnant, and then college when you got Deb pregnant. You were in love with both of them at one point correct?"

"That's different."

"Is it though? You're so wrapped up in yourself that you don't see your son is finally happy, after all you put him through."

"He should be concentrating on basketball, not some girl."

_Why don't you understand_

_That we are all the same_

_We all feel lost at times_

_Why don't you understand_

_That someone else's pain_

_Is not for gain…_

"She's not just some girl Dan, she's his world, and you just can't get over the fact that he is happy being himself and putting someone else above him and its not you. I'm done with this whole arrangement. I'll find someplace else to get the money but you are seriously sick." She shook her head disgusted as she left the house. Dan stood there in shock, he wasn't expecting her to walk out on him when she desperately needed the money. Maybe he was being a little hard on Nathan, but he was going to take care of Lauren first, and then he was going to take care of the situation himself. Little did he know that taking care of things himself would put 2 people in the hospital and both on the brink of death.

_Throw them down cause the one _

_You hurts not around, not around _

_Not around anymore _

_It's not your place, honestly…

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it! please review and let me know what you thought. I'll try to update sometime this weekend hopefully if all goes well if not definitely sometime next week, shouldnt be too long. But review it inspires me! Also about that story idea, no one responded about it so I guess thats a no go haha so I guess I'll just focus on this story and maybe make another one or a sequel depending on how this one goes, who knows anyway im rambling so review! and HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!**_

**Much love...**

**...Haylie...**


	22. Change Is Inevitable

**Ha! I told you i'd get the next chapter up before Christmas! It is 11:47 here and I just made it! How's that for timing? haha Well, I know I took like 23947 years to get this chapter up and for that I am truly sorry, things just kept getting in the way. I promise to try and be better with that. I was all over today with family, and I walked in the door about an hour ago and the first thing I thought was, CRAP! I HAVE TO UPDATE! haha. So here it is, this is where some drama finally comes into play, which is exciting, at least I think so anyway haha. Thanks much to my reviewers : xSmile, hockeygrl99, tutorgirl0825, lilmonkeygirl31, naleyforevernalways23, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06, chelle2911, catcat51092, you guys keep me going, really! So at the end of this chapter theres a bit of a cliffy, I just know everyone loves those, haha. **

**Also, I don't own anything unfortunately. The song used here is In A Second, by Aly and Aj, thought some of the words went well with the storyline, ok enjoy...

* * *

****Nathan…**

_Don't know where you are_

_Wish I just could be near you_

_I would sail oceans_

_To get a glimpse of how you feel_

Nathan had been thinking about things to say as he made his way over to the Rivercourt. He slowly walked onto the court, surveying the area to see if she was still there, but she wasn't. His heart sunk down to his stomach. He was ready to face her and just his luck she wasn't there anymore. He walked onto the pavement and sat down in the middle of the court. He looked around at the starry night wondering how his life got to be so difficult. Why couldn't the days be simple like when he and Haley were happy together? He understood why the broke up, their dreams got in the way. If someone told him that day on the docks that their little tutoring session would have gotten him to this point in his life, he would have laughed in their face.

_You're all the things I'm looking for_

_Everything and so much more_

'That's just it, the docks.' He thought.

He jumped up off the pavement and sprinted like he was being chased towards the docks. Hoping there would be the answer to all the emotions flying around in his mind. He made his way over to the docks and began walking towards the table of his past. The table where it all started, where she first tutored him. And she was just where he thought she would be, sitting there at the table. He observed her actions at first, not wanting to make her run away from him. Finally he got enough courage to walk up to her, she was staring out at the water, not making any movements, barely blinking. He went up to the table and she didn't acknowledge him. He sat down across from her and studied her face. She still was turned slightly, looking out at the water. He didn't know whether to say anything that would lead to an argument or savor the silence. He took a deep breath. He nervously opened his mouth and nothing came out. He tried again.

"Hey." He said nervously, looking down at his hands. She made no move to look at him almost as if she didn't hear him, but she did.

"Hales, look, I'm so – " He began to say until she started to talk.

"Don't, just … don't." She was still staring straight at the water, not at him.

"But Haley, I can explain, she – " He was cut off again. She finally looked at him, and he immediately wished she hadn't. Her eyes were filled with pain and almost a look of regret, which made his heart sink down to the ground. Did she regret him?

"Nathan really, I don't want to hear it, I don't even know why you're here right now to explain to me your love life, we're not together anymore, none of that matters." She started out yelling, but towards the end she got softer and her voice was cracking, and just then Nathan saw one tear fall down her cheek, just one, which she didn't wipe away, feeling that if she did, she would feel defeated. But he called her on it.

"If it doesn't matter, then why are you crying?" He said in a soft voice.

"I just – " should she tell him the truth?

"I've been sitting here thinking for a while and I've decided that I want to go back to New York." Nope, she'll just stick to lying for now. She wouldn't look at him, she didn't want to see the look on his face.

_What I think_

_You are just perfect_

_Could it be_

_That I am worth it _

_Is this thing an open door_

_Walk right through to something more_

_You and me_

_My life would change in a second_

_In a second _

"Why would you do that? You have so many reasons to stay here." He tried to convince her.

"Do I really Nathan? You're fooling around with some slut, why would I want to stay here and have to deal with that everyday?"

"I'm not talking about just me, I'm talking about Lucas, even Brooke. They want you here, they're your best friends, stay for them." He said almost desperately.

"I don't think I can." She said as she looked at him.

"Haley, look, you need to know that I didn't kiss Lauren."

"I saw you do it." She started to raise her voice at him.

"She kissed me, and if you didn't run out so fast you would have seem me push her away!" He yelled back.

"Oh, so now its my fault for running out too early." She scoffed.

"No Haley, but you were so quick to judge me, like everyone else in my life." She knew she hit a sore spot as he got up and began to walk away.

_Don't know how you feel_

_You seem to keep it to yourself_

_Would you climb mountains_

_To show me this is something real _

_You're all the things I'm looking for_

_Everything and so much more _

"Nathan, wait!" He stopped walking and turned around to face her.

"I wasn't judging you, I saw what I saw." She tried to reason.

"And you assumed the worst, Haley!"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway." She said dejectedly.

"Then why are you planning to go back to New York? Huh? Why were you crying, why Haley, if it doesn't matter?" He pushed her, he pushed her until she said what he was waiting to hear.

"Because I still love you! Damnit Nathan! Is that what you wanted to hear? _That's_ why I was crying, _that's_ why everything matters, and _that's_ why I came back from New York. I wanted to get close to you, and damnit you've done it again." She yelled. Nathan just stood there with a shocked expression present on his face. She continued now with a softer tone of voice.

_What I think_

_You are just perfect_

_Could it be_

_That I am worth it _

_Is this thing an open door_

_Walk right through to something more _

_You and me_

_My life would change in a second_

_In a second_

"You have a piece of my heart Nathan, and you probably always will. I can't date other people because my heart won't let me, it only wants you, and the heart wants what the heart wants. God, every time I completely open up to someone, especially you, I always get hurt. I regret ever loving you Nathan Scott, literally ever since I fell in love with you I've never been the same. I can't keep stringing along, I either have you or I don't, no in between. So if I can't have you, I can't stay here anymore, I love you too much. I guess I just need to learn to forget that huh?"

She now had tears streaming down her face. She began to walk away. Nathan's face was reflecting pure shock; he couldn't believe what he heard. He couldn't say anything, he couldn't move, he stood there until he fully processed what just happened. Then he began to run after her. He had been standing there for quite some time that he couldn't see her anymore. When he finally did he yelled out to her. She stopped walking but didn't turn around. When Nathan caught up to her, he was out of breath.

"Hales, do you really mean all that?" He asked softly.

"I don't say things I don't mean." She snapped back.

"Look I know your mad, and I'm sorry, but it was all a misunderstanding. You have to know I wouldn't do that to you, you have to believe me." He said desperately.

"I don't know what to believe anymore, but we're not together Nathan, like I said it doesn't matter."

"But it does matter Haley, it does and you know it. I still love you too, I wouldn't do that to you."

Ever since she heart him say 'I love you' she blacked the rest of it out. She waited so long to hear him say that again, but she couldn't trust him.

"I'm sorry Nathan." She looked down.

"Can you just truthfully answer me one question? And then I promise I'll leave you alone." The last part hurt him to say.

"What?"

"Do you really regret ever loving me?" He said, pain clearly showing through his voice. She looked at him, tears filling her eyes. She looked away, she couldn't do that to him. If she told him the truth, that would mean she was opening herself up to be vulnerable again, and she couldn't have that. If she lied that would hurt him even more. She decided to dodge the question all together, but that didn't mean it wouldn't come up again anytime soon.

"I have to go to work." She walked away, and this time he made no move to stop her.

She walked to the café, and couldn't help but cry. There were so many emotions flooding her at the moment. When she got to the café she composed herself as best she could and started her shift. Karen had to leave early for the night so it was just Haley and a couple other waitresses. She put on her apron and began cleaning one of the tables. What she didn't notice was the dark figure that followed her there.

* * *

**Nathan…**

Nathan had stayed at the docks for a few minutes after Haley left. He then decided to go home. After sitting on his couch staring at the wall, he went for another walk and it was a good thing he did.

_What I think_

_You are just perfect_

_Could it be that I am worth it_

_Is this thing an open door_

_Walk right through to something more_

_You and me…

* * *

_

**Haley…**

Haley had her back facing the door while she was wiping off the counter from her last customer. She was just about to turn around to lock up when the bells above the door rang.

"We're closed." She turned around and never felt so scared in her life. She dropped the rag and a dish she was holding and it shattered on the floor below.

There, standing in front of her, was a man dressed in all black, standing about 20 feet from her, pointing a gun at her. She wouldn't dare move.

_My life would change in a second_

_In a second…

* * *

_

**_Well there it is, hope you guys liked it, review and let me know what you think! Not sure when I'll be updating again, With tomorrow being Christmas, the next day will probably be my only day off, Wednesday I have to take my car in to be fixed, it loves me so much it broke on me lol, and thursday a few friends and I are going to New York City for the day, so I wont have much time to write unless i write some on the train on the way there, hmm maybe, if not look for an update shortly after the new year. If i didnt update by then i want to wish all of you Happy Holidays and a happy healthy New Year to follow. _**

**_Much love..._**

**_...Haylie..._**


	23. Help

**Hey theree... So here's a quick update, I have exams this week so its kind of hard to update or write, and I have gymnastics competitions once if not twice a week, but I had a little extra time so I decided to put this out there. Thanks to everyone who reviewed : tutorgirl0825, chelle2911, whiters, OTH.daddy'sgurl.06. Just remember the more reviews the faster I update :)... **

**Also, I'm not sure if the chapter alerts were working the last time I updated, so just make sure you read the last chapter before this one.. k so here's chapter 23.. enjoy

* * *

**

**Haley…**

_Remember when we never needed each other _

_The best of friends like sister and brother_

_We understood we'd never be alone_

Haley couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. She was standing backed up to the counter. She couldn't get far enough away. She swallowed the lump in her throat as best as she could.

"Look, just take the money, or whatever you want." She sobbed.

"Oh, but I don't want the money, I'm here for you." The man said.

"Who are you?" She yelled. The man had a black ski mask over his face and black clothes on. The only significant object on him was this silver ring on his hand. It was thick, and had a rare looking stone. It was a dark green stone, something she's never seen before.

"You don't need to know that now do you?" He asked as he walked closer to her.

"Why are you doing this, what did I do to you?" She cried.

"So many things, Haley, so many, you don't even know." The man said.

"How do you know my name?" She asked nervously.

"We know each other, quite well actually." She squinted at him, she couldn't tell who he was. Suddenly he grabbed her by her hair and threw her against the wall. She yelped in pain as she slid to the floor.

"Please, don't hurt me." She cried harder, holding her head where he had pulled her hair.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm going to kill you." He said with a smirk. Haley began to cry harder, she saw a figure at the door outside… Nathan.

_Those days are gone and I want you so much_

_The night is long and I need your touch_

_Don't know what to say _

_I never meant to feel this way_

_Don't want to be alone tonight

* * *

_

**Nathan…**

Nathan was walking past the café. He knew Haley was working and he wasn't going to bother her anymore, at least not for the rest of the day. She was mad enough. As he was walking, he looked in the door. What he saw made his heart drop down to his feet.

_What can I do, to make you mine_

_Falling so hard so fast this time_

_What did I say, what did you do?_

_How did I fall in love with you?_

He saw Haley, his Haley, crouching on the ground, backed up to a wall crying hysterically. He saw a man dressed in all b lack standing over her pointing a gun in her face. He couldn't breathe. How could he stop this without making it worse? He walked up to the door and tried to get Haley's attention. When he couldn't he took out his cell, and called 911.

"I need help! I'm at Karen's Café on 6th street, my girlfr – my friends inside and someone has her in there with a gun in her face, please hurry!"

"We're sending units now, I need you to stand back, and don't go in there it could just make everything worse."

He hung up the phone. He watched, making sure the man didn't further threaten Haley. He saw the police lights and he felt a little relieved, but not enough. They called Nathan over to then and he told the police his name and explained everything he had seen. The police told him to stand back, that they would take care of it.

_I hear your voice and I start to tremble_

_Brings back the child that I resemble _

_I cannot pretend that we can still be friends_

_Don't want to be alone tonight_

He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, all he could think was that if something happened he would never forgive himself. He never got to say he loved her back.

_Oh I want to say this right_

_And it has to be tonight_

_Just need you to know, oh yeah

* * *

_

**Haley…**

Haley had seen Nathan at the door, but she was busy trying to keep herself alive at the moment to try to get his attention. She was couching down on the ground, pushed up against the wall, the mystery man standing over her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She yelled.

"Because I need to get rid of you for good."

"Why, what have I ever done to you?"

"You my dear, have done more than you know. You took something from me, and I want it back." He said with an evil laugh.

"I didn't take anything from you, I don't know what you're talking about!" She yelled as she watched the man get closer.

"Oh but you do, Haley, you do."

* * *

**Nathan…**

Nathan had been standing by the cop cars watching the police do their "procedure". He had called Lucas, explained the situation, and he was on his way with Brooke. He was beginning to worry more, if that was even possible. He walked up to where the police were standing.

"Are you going to go in or what?" Nathan asked nervously.

"Listen, sir, we're going by procedure, we can't just – " The detective began to say.

"Procedure? All I see is you all just standing around doing nothing, while Haley is in there with someone who could – " He couldn't finish that sentence without a lump forming in his throat. He didn't want to think about the worse possible scenario, but in reality, it could happen, and that's what he was terrified of.

"Listen, you need to get her out of there, I can't…I can't lose her." He said with a crack in his voice, all the emotions pouring out.

"I understand kid, but you need to let us do our job." Just then, Lucas and Brooke showed up.

"Nate!" Lucas yelled as he ran over to him.

"What happened man, what's going on?" He asked in a panic.

"She's still inside, they're doing their 'procedure.' I've gotta get in there Luke, I need to help her." Nathan said looking at the building.

"Nate you cant! You'll get yourself killed." Lucas tried to stop him, but he had the look in his eye, he already made up his mind, no negotiation.

"Yeah, well better me than her." He said as he ran towards the building.

_I don't want to live this life_

_I don't want to say goodbye_

_With you I wanna spend _

_The rest of my life…

* * *

_

**Well there it is.. chapter 23.. wow cant believe I made it that far already haha.. theres still ALOT more coming your way, so make sure you review :) by the way the song used was How Did I Fall in Love With You by BSB, I know I know, but I liked the lyrics.. haha to tell you the truth i've never even heard the song lol**

**Much love...**

**...Haylie...**


	24. I Love You

**Ok it has been way too long since I updated and for that I am truely sorry. Things got crazy with school and then I traveled all summer, had a bunch of college applications and visits and such so in all that I sort of lost track, but I'm trying to get back in the swing of things so ... i hope people are still interested in this story, I will try to keep the updates more frequent now that things have settled down. So thanks for being so patient..**

**Also, during the summer I went to North Carolina to visit some colleges and spent a few days in Wilmington. If you've been before you can agree when I say that its gorgeous. I'm from the north so that atmosphere is different for me but it was an amazing trip. I did take some time to see some One Tree Hill sites which was so much fun and it also gives me something to picture when I write or read stories now that I know where things are located in relation to each other in real life. So after sitting on the bleachers at the "Rivercourt" and going to the sets and walking through the halls of "Tree Hill High" I have found my muse again! haha so hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

**_There's something that I can't quite explain _

_I'm so in love with you_

_You'll never take that away_

_And if I've said a hundred times before_

_Expect a thousand more_

_You'll never take that away_

**Outside…**

"_She's still inside, they're doing their 'procedure.' I've gotta get in there Luke, I need to help her." Nathan said looking at the building. _

"_Nate you cant! You'll get yourself killed." Lucas tried to stop him, but he had the look in his eye, he already made up his mind, no negotiation. _

"_Yeah, well better me than her." He said as he ran towards the building. _

As Nathan ran towards the café he heard a faint scream of his name. He turned to see Brooke running towards him.

"Nathan what's going on? I was on my way and I saw all the emergency lights and you running toward the building!" Brooke said out of breath from running up to him.

"Brooke go over to Lucas right now!" Nathan exclaimed.

"What? Why what's going – " Nathan interrupted her.

"Just go!" Now petrified, she ran her way over to Lucas who was standing next to an officer in position if anyone had ran out of the café.

_Well expect me to be calling you to see_

_If you're okay when I'm not around_

_Asking if you love me_

_I love the way you make it sound_

_Calling you to see_

_Do I try too hard to make you smile?_

_To make us smile…_

"Lucas, what the hell is going on?" She cried frantically.

"Haley is in there and there's someone in there with a gun." Without thinking Brooke started to make her way over to where Nathan was again but Lucas quickly grabbed her arm.

"Brooke, stay here I mean it!" Lucas commanded. The look in his eyes was enough and Brooke lost it. All the fear and unknown came pouring out of her as she broke down in Lucas' arms. Lucas just held her tight while she cried for her friend who was in a situation she couldn't imagine being in.

Meanwhile, Nathan had run closer to the building, ignoring the protests of the cops nearby. He ran right up to the door and saw Haley on the floor backed up all the way to the wall with the man standing over her. The next thing he felt was a hand on his arm, a cop, dragging him away from the door, but not before the man inside saw.

_I will keep calling you to see_

_If you're sleeping or you're dreaming_

_If you're dreaming are you dreaming of me?_

_I can't believe you actually picked me…

* * *

_

**Inside…**

The man had seen Nathan by the door before he was dragged away by the cops. This unfortunately didn't stop him from proceeding with his plan.

"You know the cops are right outside, they're going to come in any minute now." Haley tried to reason with the man.

"Let them come in, you'll be long gone by the time they get the guts to come in here and face me. Don't worry your pretty little face, it'll only hurt for a minute." He said with a deadly smirk on his face.

At that moment, the adrenaline in Haley had maximized. She had done something she never thought she'd do in this kind of situation. She grabbed a nearby tray that happened to be behind the counter on the floor in the bucket of things she was planning on washing before the psycho came in, and she knocked the gun out of his hand. As it slid on the ground in the direction of the back exit, she took this as an opportunity. She punched the guy as hard as she could, but not hard enough as he retaliated and grabbed her at the throat.

_'This is it'_ she thought. It's over, there's nothing she can do now. She could barely breathe as the man's grip on her throat tightened. She used all the strength she had left in her to kick him right between the legs causing him to release his grip as Haley sunk to the ground. But before she could blink he was back at it, he had run to where the gun had slid and picked it up pointing it at her. She was still weak from nearly choking to death; she couldn't get up fast enough.

_I thought that the world had lost its way_

_Then I fell in love with you_

_And you took that away

* * *

_

**Outside…**

Nathan had relaxed a bit, but not enough to completely forget about the situation. He was still screaming at the cops to get in there and get Haley out. They were just now getting together a game plan to proceed into the building.

As Nathan was fighting with the cops, Brooke's tears had more or less subsided. She was still teary, but not as hysterical as before. As Lucas felt her sobs settle down, he looked her in the eye.

_You take away the old, show me the new_

_And I feel like I can fly when I stand next to you_

_So while I'm on this phone_

_A hundred miles from home_

_I'll take the words you gave _

_And send them back to you_

"Everything is going to be okay Brooke, I promise." He tried to reassure both her and himself.

"Lucas, I should be in there too." Lucas looked at her shocked.

"Brooke don't you dare say that." He told her.

"You don't understand, Haley called me about 15 minutes ago, asking me to meet her here. I told her I was coming but I had to run an errand first. Luke, if I was here in those 15 minutes, I'd be inside too." She began to cry again.

"No one should be in this position right now and everything happens for a reason. I'm so thankful that you aren't in there right now, I don't know what I would have done if you were in there too. Haley's my best friend and I'm all but falling apart, I couldn't stand the thought of losing you Brooke." Lucas said as one lone tear fell down his cheek. He pulled Brooke back into his chest and held her even tighter. Brooke said the only thing that came to her mind at this time.

_I only want to see _

_If you're okay when I'm not around_

_Asking if you love me_

_I love the way you make it sound_

_Calling you to see_

_Do I try too hard to make you smile?_

_To make us smile…_

"I love you." She said softly to him.

"What?" He pulled back from her just enough to rest his forehead on hers.

"I love you Lucas Scott." At hearing her declaration he smiled at her, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her like it was the first time.

"I love you too Pretty Girl." It felt like it was just the two of them, alone, like none of this happened, even if it was just for a moment.

_I will keep calling you to see_

_If you're sleeping or you're dreaming _

_If you're dreaming are you dreaming of me?_

_I can't believe you actually picked me…_

Just then they heard the one thing they hoped to never hear. One, only one gunshot.

The only thing anyone heard after that was the scream that came out of Nathan's mouth, and the tears rolling down his cheek, as he broke away from the cops holding him and ran for the Café door.

"HALEY!"

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**ok, hope everyone liked it... please review so I know if theres still interest in this story... thanks for reading !**

**The song used was Calling You, by Blue October ... good song :)**

**Much Love...**

**...Haylie...**


	25. Say When

**I know! can you believe it I'm actually updating! I'm sorry life has gotten in the way so much with this story. Schools hectic and busy and I really just haven't had the time but I really do want to finish this story! I found my inspiration again after being an extra in One Tree Hill! I was in the episode of the fashion show and it was AMAZING I got to see every single character that is on that show (minus Paul Johansson) that night and it was the most amazing thing ever and im so thankful i was given that chance. So I know this update is very short but hey it's better then nothing right?? haha hope you enjoy! please leave feedback and let me know what you think!**

**I dont own One Tree Hill (unfortunately) and the song used in this chapter and as the chapter title is Say When by The Fray**

* * *

Just then they heard the one thing they hoped to never hear. One, only one gunshot.

The only thing anyone heard after that was the scream that came out of Nathan's mouth, and the tears rolling down his cheek, as he broke away from the cops holding him and ran for the Café door.

"HALEY!"

_I see you there, don't know where you come from_

_Unaware but you're still from somewhere_

_Don't appear to care that I saw you, and I want you_

_What's your name, cause I have to know it_

_You let me in and begin to show it_

_I'm terrified cause your headed straight for it, might get it_

Time stopped for everyone. Everything was in slow motion. No one moved, no one breathed. The cops ran towards the building in slow motion. No one knew what the outcome would be, however they feared the worst. A best friend, a girlfriend, a daughter, a sister inside a café on a normal day. A gunshot echoing in the street. Was this the end for this beautiful life? Time began to move again, as everyone settled and began to realize what this might mean. The cops were now inside the café while everyone outside only imagined what they were finding. The door opened and suddenly the crowd of friends couldn't help the tears from streaming down their faces. Walking out of the building on the arms of the police officers was their best friend, seemingly unscathed.

"Haley! Oh thank God." Nathan ran to her as soon as the cops around her dispersed. Everything finally sunk in for her and all she could do was latch on to Nathan and cry. She buried her head in his chest and just let it all out. Nathan rubbed her back soothingly whispering in her ear.

"It's okay baby, you're okay. I've got you now; everything's going to be just fine." He told her.

"Nathan, I was so scared. I tried to be brave but I was just so terrified." Haley cried into him. She became hysterical with each word she spoke.

"Baby you were so brave. I'm so proud of you." Nathan tried to calm her down.

"Nathan, about before…" Haley began.

"Hales don't even worry about that right now. I'm just glad you're okay." He said.

"No, being in this situation just put everything into perspective for me. I absolutely do not regret ever loving you. Loving you was the best thing that ever happened to me. I can't live my life without you, it's not possible. I want us to be together." Haley said with so much emotion it almost brought Nathan to tears. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wanted to hear this for so long.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to hear those words from you. I want nothing more than to be with you, Hales." He said with such conviction. It may have taken an unfortunate situation to put everything in perspective for the couple, but they found their way back.

_hear the song playin in the background_

_all alone but you're turning up now_

_and everyone is rising to meet ya, to greet you_

_turn around and you're walkin toward me_

_I'm breakin down and you're breathin slowly_

_Say the word and I will be your man, your man, say when_

_And my own two arms will comfort you tonight, tonight, say when_

_And my own to arms will carry you, tonight_

* * *

**Lucas and Brooke…**

They stood stunned as Haley emerged from the building. They watched as Nathan ran over to her as soon as he could. Nathan and Haley latched onto each other for dear life. They saw as Nathan tried his best to comfort her from this situation she was just in.

"She's okay Luke! She's okay!" Brooke cried as she hugged Lucas.

"Yeah, she is." Lucas said as tears started falling down his cheeks. Brooke began to pull him towards the couple but Lucas stopped her.

"Let's just give them a minute." Lucas offered.

_Come close and then even closer  
We bring it in but we go no further  
We're separate two ghosts in one mirror, no mearer  
Later on if it turns to chaos, hurricane comin all around us  
See the crack, pull it back from the window, you stay low, say when_

"Luke I…" Could she finally say it? What if it were her inside that building? What if she was inside and she didn't emerge like Haley did.

"What is it Brooke?" Lucas asked concerned.

"Nothing, I just, I'm glad we worked through everything." Maybe another time. Lucas smiled at her admission.

"Me too, pretty girl, me too."

* * *

**Nathan and Haley…**

"Did you see who the guy was?" Nathan asked Haley.

"No he had a ski mask over his face, I couldn't tell anything about him. He was choking me and I was so weak. He ran to get the gun and he shot at me, but he missed and then ran out the back." She said beginning to cry again. Nathan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He shook his head furious at this man for almost killing the only girl he's ever loved.

"The cops will find him Hales, I know they will." Nathan tried to reassure her.

"He did have a ring on. It wasn't like anything I've ever seen. It was sliver with a dark green stone on it." Haley remembered.

"Why don't you go tell the police what you know, anything you can give them will help them find this guy okay?" Haley nodded as she walked over to the police and began giving them all the information she could.

_Come across you're lost and broken  
you're coming to, but you're slow and waking  
you Start to shake, you still haven't spoken, what happened_

Nathan noticed Lucas and Brooke walking over to him. Both with looks of relief mixed with concern for their best friend.

"How is she?" Brooke asked Nathan.

"She's okay. A bit shaken up, but that's to be expected." Nathan answered looking at Haley while she was talking to the police.

"Do we know anything about the guy that did this?" Lucas asked concerned.

"No she didn't see his face. Just that he had some ring on with a green stone." Nathan told him.

"Damn."

"They'll find him man, they have to." Nathan claimed.

"Yeah. The main thing is that she's okay" Lucas replied as he patted Nathan on the shoulder. That's all they could hope for right now.

_And my own two hands will comfort you tonight, tonight..._

* * *

**Well there it is! I know its short but its something. Ill be working on the next chapter and hope to have it up maybe by the beginning of next week. Ill take more time with it and make sure it's longer for you guys! Please review and let me know how you feel about this chapter! it truely encourages me to keep writing!**

**Much love**

**...Haylie...**


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